Work only just begins on long awaited e-gov site

| 29/04/2015 | 11 Comments

(CNS): The much anticipated goal of moving more government services online to cut costs and improve efficiency still appears some way off. Despite promises from successive administrations that technology will be used to help reduce queues, bureaucracy and costs, e-government is still in the early stages.  Officials revealed that the new gov.ky service portal will not be launched until the year-end and that the e-Gov Steering Committee (EGSC) met for the first time just this month to begin the work. 

Government appointed former LIME senior executive Ian Tibbetts last December as the e-government tsar who will oversee the transition of government services online.

The government’s main objectives are to enhance customer services and improve public sector efficiency, officials said in a release Wednesday announcing the start of the work to develop the new website.

“The overall goals are to improve the experience of customers, especially by reducing time and costs in the delivery of services. It also seeks to enhance public perception of the civil service, as well as competitiveness with other jurisdictions,” officials said.

As well as minimizing or even eliminating repetition, such as data-collection and storage, the automation of government services and its processes will, the government hopes, streamline workflow in many areas. Officials are also aiming to improve public access to government services, and facilitate complex customer transactions that involve multiple departments or agencies, in other words make it easier and simpler for people to do business with government.

The committee is also looking for input from public customers as well as from within the civil service. The officials said the suggestions will guide the EGSC’s plans to transform the gov.ky website into a service portal where customers can easily find the online services offered by all government entities in one place.

“The development and integration phase is expected to start this summer, and will establish the core elements that will be common to all offices offering online services,” a government spokesperson said. “While the range of applicable elements are generally those that support core functions of government — such as  inspections, licencing, payment collections and notifications — they will also include basic functions like user-access and authentication controls.”

Terms of reference for the committee include reviewing and deciding the feasibility of e-government business cases submitted by various government offices and guiding the allocation of e-services resources and staff. The EGSC will approve and oversee the implementation of the e-government framework, policies and procedures and track the progress of approved initiatives, the release stated.

Cayman News Service

E-Gov Steering Committee: (L-R seated) co-chairs Councillor Alva Suckoo MLA and Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, with Cabinet Secretary Samuel Rose, (L-R standing) Deputy Registrar General Donnell Dixon, Deputy Chief Officer Wesley Howell, Chamber of Commerce CEO Wil Pineau, Airports Authority Deputy Director-General Nicoela McCoy, ICTA Managing Director Alee Fa’Amoe, and Director of E-Government Ian Tibbetts

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Category: Politics

Comments (11)

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  1. Dozy says:

    Linford Pierson was appointed (at his request to the then Governor) the Minister of e-Government in 2000. What happened? Cayman is so desperately slow at actually DOING anything – cruise ship mooring buoys, cruise terminal, dump, abattoir (30 years before it was finally built). Reports, committees, focus groups, caucuses, overseas consultants (ignored) local consultants (ignored), another committee etc etc.

  2. the truthe says:

    Wrong people on the bus. Where is the private sector ? There is no future IT careers for young caymaniana as this commitee will continue to use Oracle and/ or outsource to a Brac based firm which uses outdated and unsustainable technology. Let’s come back in 2 years and see what success looks like and see how much money and time has been wasted.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Considering LIME can’t even get basic services online, and they are a private sector communications company, I am not going to hold my breath for CIG to accomplish it. It is only 1985 in the Cayman Islands.

  4. Paul says:

    Absolutely no desire from any Government to streamline their services and we all know why…. However it must be accepted that in a small country like this Government is a major employer and nobody will accept the alternative

  5. Archie says:

    Hopefully the team on at this project are the same crack outfit who previously managed the seamless transition from paying a car-park attendant at the airport to the current machine payment system.

    • Anonymous says:

      Don’t even get me started. The irony is that leaving the carpark now takes 8 times as long and involves at least 3 different people aside from the “customer”. I doubt my $2 covers that.

  6. Anonymous says:

    Its not just the PPM on this one. Think about it, the only significant way to reduce costs is to reduce the workforce. Now in reducing the workforce you unfortunately create another problem which is how to gainfully employ those people who are actually made redundant and unemployable in the private sector. Come up with an answer to that conundrum and any government in power would snap your hand off.

    • Anonymous says:

      You bring in legislation that ensures that public or private employees are taken on by the new contract holder. In the UK it’s called TUPE, (transfer of undertakings) and very simply put, it ensures that employees are transferred to the new company without contractual detriment for a fixed period of time.
      There’s a world of employee/employer legislation out there people, just find the best and get it enacted.

    • Anonymous says:

      In rears to my last post re: TUPE. Although it does ensure transfer of a workforce, it cannot just find jobs when they no longer exist, which I think was the point being made.
      The real problem is how you bring in external investment with such restrictive business and immigration laws. The CS is far to big for such a small country and needs to be taken down to an affordable size. But this will require internationally experienced outsourcing companies to get to grips with the many government departments that frankly should be in private hands.
      But again, local monopolies will make a few richer at the expense of the many and will no doubt bleed the exchequer dry because there isn’t any competition to force costs down.

  7. Naya Boy says:

    The PPM and its jobs for cronies! Just starting?? If you want something to go absolutely nowhere all you have to do is form Commit-tee. Another forum to talk gossip and give options and opportunities to government retiree’s and friends to fleece government.

    • Anonymous says:

      The UDP were no better especially when the premier was sitting at the slot machines across the water.

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