International Business Minister Donville Inniss has chided government departments for not deploying the necessary technology throughout the system to speed up the way business is done in Barbados.
Noting that in 2016 it was ???frightfully embarrassing to go to some government departments and see the long lines of people waiting to be served,??? the Minister stated that ???it was not what should be happening today.???
Mr. Inniss made these comments this morning at the launch of the Ministry of International Business Unit???s website at Baobab Towers, Warrens, St. Michael.
???I think sometimes that there is this reluctance and this fear of using the latest tools available and this kind of media available to help us become more efficient,??? he lamented.
He disclosed that a call had gone out from the Ministry???s partners in the International Business sector to acquire information on what the Ministry does, the forms that are used and all related issues to be put up on the ministry???s electronic platform.
Pointing out that a website was only useful if a couple of things go along with it, Mr. Inniss told his audience that it was vital that the information on the site was current and relevant.
???Government departments have been known to just put up things and become static and they do not create dynamic sites, and this one needs to be dynamic. We are working in a very dynamic industry and I expect that part of the task of public officers to balance the process is to get information up there on a timely basis. The world is not waiting on us, so someone who is in Australia who needs information about our international business sector must be able to get it in good time.
???They do not have the time to wait on somebody to get back in a couple of weeks or months, so it must be a very dynamic site with current information. It means that the information we put up must be accurate,??? the Minister advised.
The Minister added that many service providers were likely to use the website to make informed decisions, and therefore Mr. Inniss cautioned the business development officers within his Ministry that one does not get a second chance to make a first impression. ??
Persons interested in viewing the website may do so at www.internationalbusiness.gov.bb.
theresa.blackman@barbados.gov.bb