Barbados to expedite digital ID, public sector digitization this year

The government of Barbados says it will accelerate efforts aimed at digitizing more public sector services in 2026 within the framework of its digital transformation push.

Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology Minister, Senator Jonathan Reid, disclosed the information at the end of December, as he addressed the country’s digital transformation priorities, Barbados Today reports.

He said as part of the GovTech initiative, many more public services will be digitized on a monthly basis while efforts will also be accelerated in the area of digital ID issuance, mobile ID, cybersecurity investment, and other digital infrastructure.

The official said the plan to further digitize public services aligns with the digital technology pillar of his ministry which is expected to boost national development and the digital economy.

“We’re really thinking about expanding the work around digital identification and mobile identification, advancing our computer infrastructure next year [this year], so there’ll be lots of advancement,” Reid said as quoted.

In line with this ambition, the minister also mentioned that efforts will be boosted in terms of expanding the issuance of Trident ID and to clear some of the misunderstanding that has rocked the ID initiative.

He also stated that in other to drive adoption, the government is looking forward to conducting a sensitization campaign this year to let people know the additional features of the card. Reid had spoken last year about plans to run the awareness campaign. Trident ID was launched to replace old national ID cards in Barbados which had been in place for more than 40 years.

According to Reid, the new features, expected to be rolled out by mid next year, will enable citizens easily have access to certain services in the public and private sectors without having to wait for long in queues or fill out complicated forms.

“You want to be able to go through one service to another service very, very smoothly, very securely, not having to fill out multiple forms and wait in line and do all kinds of things that take long processes,” Reid was quoted as saying.

Signing up to the new digital ID service will not be obligatory, he said, but noted that the idea is to create a kind of one-stop-shop where citizens can access a variety of services in a secure and trusted manner. The new digital ID was expected to have rolled out last year.

Barbados’ Public Sector Modernization Program is part of the country’s Economic Recovery and Transformation Program (BERT). One of the objectives of the initiative is to introduce government reforms that enable a more modern and efficient public sector. The reform project is financed by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Article Topics

Barbados  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  government services  |  national ID  |  Trident ID