The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

OPPOSITION Senator Zhivargo Laing said he hopes the new government will continue with the previous administration’s e-government initiative, which saw some governmental services placed online for easier access.

Through www.bahamas.gov.bs, general information about the government and the Bahamas can be obtained and online payments can be made for things such as a driver’s licence and real property tax.

“I was extremely excited about the implementation of e-government – the opportunity to provide services to the public by way of the Internet and make it easier, more efficient and more effective to serve the public,” Mr Laing said.

He said the Ingraham administration was “quite aggressive” with the implementation plan, investing almost $10 million in the initiative.

“We had implemented about three or four services so far and had a series of services, I believe about six or seven additional services, in the year to implement and would add additional services every year,” he said.

“It would have been my hope that any sensible administration sees just how important, how good something like that could be and would carry it on, to be honest with you, with more aggressiveness that even we did.”

Using Singapore as an example of successful e-governance, Mr Laing said: “Singapore has been able to garner so much respect in the world for its ease of doing business largely because of its e-government services and it is the number one such country in the world in terms of offering e-government services.”

Mr Laing said public awareness campaigns and education seminars have already been undertaken.

“There was quite a bit of meetings held with the public, meetings held with various government departments and grouping et cetera,” he said. “That’s absolutely necessary and that’s to be sustained so I hope and trust it continues so that you can bring people along for what is a very important initiative in the country.”

The Christie administration has not made any public announcements about the future of e-government.

The website, www.bahamas.gov.bs, is still accessible and up to date.