Phase 1 of the database project is completed; allowing for the electronic processing of planning applications and monitoring of development. The new database is being used to collect and monitor development applications by linking all Government agencies that play an integral role in development. This is in addition to external stakeholders such as developers and individual applicants, giving them the ability to track their applications in real time.
Speaking at the handover ceremony at the Premier’s Conference Room on October 4, Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE said, “This initiative, the planning database, is one of many that is important to my government, as we continue to do what is necessary to implement e-services across the public service to better meet our customers where they are.”
The Premier spoke about the manual process which the TCPD had used prior to the database, stating, “Reports from the TCPD show that the development control section of the department has been overwhelmed with this manual process. This means they had to use a hawks-eye approach to keep track of the information, turn the work around, as customers demanded quick access to information.”
Premier Smith also referred to the recent Cabinet approval for the implementation of e-Government and a Steering Committee, tasked with getting the initiative off the ground.
He said, “We recognise the desire for Government to allow the public to interface with its key service agencies through e-Government. This desire is aligned with the public’s interest to access Government’s services online to reduce costs and improve services.”
The database was officially handed over from the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) and the Department of Disaster Management (DDM) to the TCPD, the Government agency responsible for physical planning and development control.
Phase 2 of the project is slated to begin soon. This new development will allow for the tracking of applications and drawings submitted online, and public access to check on the progress of applications. The system is expected to be introduced in the latter part of 2013.
The Premier’s Office, which serves as the focal point for coordinating cross-sectoral policies and programmes, is tasked with creating the legislative framework for e-Government in the Virgin Islands as outlined by the 2011 Speech from the Throne.
The provision of e-services is in line with Government’s mission to make Government work with the creation of an effective and efficient public service that delivers for the people of the Virgin Islands.
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Quelle/Source: SKNVibes, 11.10.2012
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