Digital Government in Trinidad and Tobago

What is digital government? Digital government is the use of digital technologies to deliver government services, information, and processes to citizens, businesses, and other government agencies. You will also hear the terms egovernment, digital nation, digital-first government and digitally enabled government in the discourse. For all this to work, widespread digital literacy is needed. We have to ensure that vulnerabled groups are not left out.

Trinidad ranks poorly in the UN 2022 egovernment index at 93. This index is a composite measure of three important dimensions of egovernment which are provision of online services, telecommunication connectivity and human capacity. We have a lot of work to do. We need all hands on deck.

In our politics there is much talk about constitutional reform. In my thinking we should develop a system of politics that is modern and suited to us and move away from the one we inherited. The government is the largest employer and manages huge budgets. So much of our lives are affected by the decisions and actions of government. In looking at digital government we must answer the why. Citizens are fed up of the bureaucracy and red tape. We want productivity and efficiency in government. We want cost savings and value for money. We want an open and transparent government where we have a say. We want a government we can trust and that is accountable to us. At the end of the day citizens want solutions to their problems.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation has been collecting ideas. How many and which ideas have been actioned? They should be telling us. These are the things that will encourage us to take part. The ministry promised they were going to be agile. The benefits of digital government are clear and we can learn from other countries and adapt to our needs. Estonia is seen as the most advanced digital government in the world. I understand that we are workly closely with that country in our digital transformation push. Our ministry has started on e-identity.

In my video that I shared more that 3 years ago I pointed out that technology is a pillar of any modern society. Tech and country development goes hand in hand. I have seen people comment that cultural change is needed and that we need to change the way we think. We have to become tech savvy. Ministries must be talking to each other. Much collaboration has to take place. We have to embrace our local developers. Make it easier to start a business. Customer service must become priority. We should be embracing work from home. Government must become innovative, disruptive and agile.

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