Continued from Page 12 The success of digital government requires associated action, including whole-of-government planning, appropriate change management, effective business process re-engineering and relevant technology solutions. In the end, the public service exists to meet the needs of its citizens. It is evident that to achieve its mandate, relevant adjustments must be made. As a result of COVID-19, services have been restricted, and, in some cases, closed to the public. In the 21st Century it is expected that citizens should have the option to obtain government services without necessarily going to a brick and mortar building. Importantly, there is a growing number of persons with Internet-capable devices. Also, Internet penetration continues to increase strongly, suggesting that the average citizen will be able to make use of digitised services. CARICAD’s vision for 21st Century Government utilises an approach which is: Citizen-centric Outcome focussed Systematically transformative Technologically innovative and data-driven Talent managed The objective of CARICAD’s 21st Century Government concept is to transform the public service to support sustainable and resilient development. Achieving this objective would mean that during normal and challenging times, the new resilient public service would be capable to deliver services to citizens in a cost-effective, timely, and convenient manner. A key contributor for success is the development of robust digital government. COVID-19 has exposed the weakness of the current digital government operations. COVID-19 is increasing awareness that the capabilities of technology can and must be leveraged to improve the efficiency of the public sector for policy planning and execution, accountability, and service delivery. Post COVID-19, it is highly likely that we will adopt a new modality for work. Digital Government is expected to transform the operations, responsiveness, credibility, and performance of the public service, and create a more meaningful relationship between the government and citizens. The pace of implementation of digital government must, therefore, be quickened. COVID-19 has now provided the impetus to look at the resilience of operations to unusual circumstances. It also demonstrates the need for serious preparation to ensure that the government remains on the job even in trying situations. After all, the citizens are depending on government, and particularly so, during times of crises. Compiled by Trudy Waterman, Programme Implementation Officer at CARICAD During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to obtain information from credible sources. In addition to your local Government Information Service and other official sources, the websites below are reliable sources of information on the coronavirus. Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) http://www.cdema.org Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) http://carpha.org/ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention https://www.cdc.gov/ Eastern Caribbean Central Bank https://www.eccb-centralbank.org/p/tracking-covid-19-in-the-eccu Pan-American World Health Organization https://www.paho.org/en Operational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) https://www.osha.gov/ Click here to follow the latest WHO guidelines on the COVID-19 pandemic. Official WHO WhatsApp number: +41 79 893 18 92 Just say HI, and you will receive updated information on the coronavirus. 13
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