IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

Earlier this year, the Organization of American States (OAS) in collaboration with the US Embassy in Belize rolled out the “Promoting an Open Government Ecosystem in Belize” project. The project seeks to establish management practices based on openness, accountability, and easy access to public information. There were four workshops held in August geared towards promoting this ecosystem. Love news spoke with Henry Wade, the Local Coordinator for The Trust for the Americas in Belize, who said that the government has already embarked on developing e-government; however, there is more to be done.

This new site is not to be confused with the pre-existing intranet that the department has been using for sometime now. That internal server is not accessible to the public, but this new site is and offers some great services.

The center was constructed through the assistance of the government of Taiwan and its International Cooperation and Development Fund. The Center which is located on Mountain View Boulevard, in Belmopan City is expected to provide education and training courses as well as cultivating quality human resources to aid the e-Government program of Belize. It is also expected to develop, implement and host software applications for Departments and Agencies of the Government of Belize.

The Belize Motor Vehicle Registration and License System has been discussed in the media for a number of years to date. The project was designed in collaboration with The Republic of China (Taiwan) with the aim of centralizing Belize’s Transport System and streamlining a number of services, including driver and vehicle licenses, vehicular registrations, traffic tickets, and revenue collection through the digitization of records and implementation of new auditing measures.

This week that vision came to fruition when the Ambassador of Taiwan, H.E. David Kuan-Chou Chen, handed over a new transport system at a ceremony held in Orange Walk which was attended by the Minister of Youth, Sports and E-Governance, Hon. Kevin Bernard, and Prime Minister Hon. John Briceño.

According to Dr. Colin Young, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology and Public Utilities, in developing the policies “we will be looking at the best possible ways that Belize can harness the use of ICTs to transform the way government does business with the public as well as how the private sector and civil societies can use ICTs to improve their efficiency”.

For the most part, the process of acquiring any form of driver’s license or vehicle registration has been anything but a uniform and cohesive process. Up until now, there were 9 different systems for the 9 different municipalities but since the latest Belizean-Taiwanese venture, all of that will change. The Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) has been the spearhead in this USD $2.8 million project. The project is a 4-year joint partnership on e-government so that the Belizean citizenry will be able to enjoy a more effective and efficient transport service.

On June 8, 2017, the Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Taiwanese Ambassador, H. E. Charles K. Y. Liu, and Financial Secretary, Joseph Waight of the Ministry of Finance. The MoU is for the e-government initiative “Belize Motor Vehicle Registration and License System” (BMVRALS). The intent of the 4-year-project is to make the current, decentralized system one that will be integrated and centralized by the end of its two phases. The current systems work independent of each other leaving room for inefficient record management and data sharing. The new system will be implemented in the entire country to digitize transport services.

The Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is pleased to announce that H.E. Ambassador Benjamin Ho has presented a cheque of USD 109,000.00 to the Central Information Technology Office (CITO) of the Government of Belize for the bilateral ICT Project on September 2nd, 2016. This 5-year project is budgeted at USD 1.82 million, with USD 1.5 million funded by the Government of the ROC (Taiwan), and the rest covered by the Government of Belize. The aim of this project is to pave the way to achieve e-government in Belize to benefit the government and the general public.

Today the Government of Belize and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed at helping the government to meet its National Digital Transformation Goals. Microsoft will help to address problems with government inefficiency and corruption by incorporating more advanced technology. Government plans to integrate cloud storage and computing, as well as train Public Officers to properly use the new technology. Representatives from both the GOB and Microsoft gave presentations about the soon to be improved government systems...

The promise then was to introduce new technology such as broadband wireless service, and a mobile telephone system - to be used in rural areas.

Today, the Taiwanese government was living up to its promise when it officially inaugurated a new WIFI infrastructure and IP Telephone system.

Belize will soon have an electronic system for driver and vehicle licenses, as well as vehicle registration with a web portal to access information thanks to the efforts of the Central Information Technology Office (C.I.T.O.) and Taiwan’s technical mission in Belize, led by Ming-Cheng (Diego) Tsai.

Two information and communications technology experts: Professor Shian-Shyong Tseng of Asia University in Taichung, Taiwan and Project Management Consultant/Software Engineer, Hsu En-Che, have been in Belize since last Thursday, meeting with Transport Department Director Crispin Jeffries and other authorities to determine Belize’s ICT needs in this area, and to advise on a way forward.

To strengthen the close and cordial relations between Belize and Taiwan, the ambassadors of both nations met with ministers of each other’s government to discuss bond-strengthening measures and intentions for further cooperation.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Belize, His Excellency, David K.C. Chien, met with the Minister of Youth, Sports and E-Governance, Hon. Kevin Bernard, to discuss initiatives to pave the way for a modern, digital era in Belize. The ministry in Belize aspires to achieve 95% digitization of services. Together, the officials of the two countries discussed means for building e-governance in Belize and also how Taiwan could help Belize achieve such a goal. Those in the meeting showed particular interest in providing internet access to rural communities.

But a consultant from Singapore is in-country is here to talk about re-engineering that whole process and dismantling the tyranny. He is hosting a workshop on Communications Technology for Public Sector Reform, at the Belize Biltmore Plaza - and he told us about the idea to radically redesign the bureaucracy:..

оdау, thе Gоvеrnmеnt оf Веlіzе (GОВ) hеld а wоrkѕhор іn соllаbоrаtіоn wіth thе Іntеr-Аmеrісаn Dеvеlорmеnt Ваnk tо dіѕсuѕѕ іtѕ Е-Gоvеrnmеnt аgеndа, whісh аіmѕ tо mаkе gоvеrnmеnt ѕеrvісеѕ ассеѕѕіblе оnlіnе.

Тhе wоrkѕhор gаthеrеd bоth рublіс аnd рrіvаtе ѕесtоr еntіtіеѕ аѕ wеll аѕ ѕресіаl соnѕultаntѕ frоm thе ІDВ аt thе Rаdіѕѕоn Fоrt Gеоrgе Ноtеl аnd Маrіnа fоr рrеѕеntаtіоnѕ аnd dіаlоguе ѕеѕѕіоnѕ gеаrеd tоwаrdѕ dеvеlоріng а rоаd mар.