The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

THE Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has named The Bahamas as one of eight finalists in its “Superhero of Development” contest for the country’s digitisation initiatives.

Key to the success is the Government’s Digital Transformation to Strengthen Competitiveness Project (GDTSCP). The general objective of the GDTSCP is to foster the competitiveness of The Bahamas, increasing the ease, cost and efficiency of doing business by streamlining government procedures and making them available online.

Kwasi Thompson, State Minister for Finance, told Tribune Business: “The GDTSCP was selected as one of the eight finalists in the IDB Superheroes of Development 2021 Contest. I wish to congratulate the members of my Digital Transformation Unit (DTU) for their hard work and dedication, changing the landscape of The Bahamas through Digital Transformation.

“The Superheroes of Development is part of an effort by the IDB Group to improve the performance of IDB-financed projects through systematic learning and knowledge sharing. This initiative recognizes executing agencies and borrowers that have faced and overcome challenges in innovative and creative ways.

“We are very pleased that the programme was recognized internationally. This is only motivation for us to continue our digital transformation which is having a significant positive impact on the lives of Bahamians.”

The IDB Group announced the eight finalists for the fourth edition of its Superheroes of Development Initiative, which recognizes creative and innovative solutions in the execution of development projects financed by the IDB Group in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

The work of these Superheroes is often invisible, but their ability to overcome difficulties that may seem insurmountable, is decisive for the success of the projects.

 The initiative– created to promote operational excellence in projects by executing agencies and clients within borrowing member countries of the IDB Group — received 91 proposals from 24 countries in LAC.

 The DTU, established in, 2018, has been integral to leading the digitisation efforts on behalf of the government.

 The government has set out an aggressive campaign for the DTU, namely having all of the government services online within five years where the government has already placed the Road Traffic Department, the passport office and registrar general’s office online where people can register and pay for their services.

 The DTU has also conducted assessment sessions for the National Computer Incident Response Team (CIRT) in March. Participants included Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), as well as information technology (IT) leads of government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), and of the private sector.

 The goal of this first-ever CIRT assessment exercise was to evaluate the national cyber threat landscape. CIRTs are responsible for ensuring that security breaches, viruses and potentially catastrophic incidents are detected and prevented.

 The establishment of the first National Cybersecurity Strategy and national CIRT, are critical components of the Government’s ongoing efforts to reduce the security risks associated with online transactions and digital networks within its agencies.