Municipal authorities get mega technology boost

The Universal Service Fund last week received FortiGate firewall licences which should go a far way in advancing the approval processes for a variety of applications over which municipal corporations have jurisdiction.

The initiative is part of Government’s build-out of its overall communications technology system.

In addition to making it easier to do business and speed up approvals, this will also reduce costs, according to Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie.

“What we are developing here is a cross-government approach to increase technology, to increase the potential for service delivery … .And I think this will help us to position the local authorities, so that if I am in Kingston and I want to do a transaction in Portland, I don’t have to travel to Portland to undertake that transaction. I can stay right here in Kingston, using the system, the advancement in technology, in doing this,” he said at the ceremony held on Friday at the ministry’s head office, 61 Hagley Park Road, Kingston.

With the introduction of the National BroadBand Initiative, a Government of Jamaica programme, the municipal corporations have been outfitted with the necessary equipment from the GovNet project. GovNet now acts as an Internet connection hub for the courts, schools, the National Works Agency offices, and the Jamaica Fire Brigade.

It also allows the municipal corporations to access the AMANDA (Application Management and Data Automation) system using the broadband. AMANDA is a web-based application management system aimed at providing greater transparency in the building approval process and relies heavily on Internet connection to provide faster services. Some municipal corporations face serious challenges due to the slow Internet speed at their location.

McKenzie offered some insight into how the changes will improve the efficiency of the municipal corporations.

“What we are about to receive today will, one, give the local authorities the ability to respond in an orderly and timely fashion. Right now, we are almost above 80 per cent in the 90-day window for approvals, and when we can use this equipment … persons can make online applications and we can send to the various agencies of government ... . There are about 14 entities that play a role in the approval processes. While the local authority is the only one that can grant building approval, and there are some planning approvals as also, there are other entities that are required to work with us,” he explained.

The local government minister also spoke to advances set to come on stream next year which would significantly improve communications between emergency response teams during and in the aftermath of natural disasters.

“What we experienced on Monday, the first in almost 60 years, speaks to how, as a country, we must prepare ourselves to face these challenges and the personal responsibility that comes with this. With the Japan International Cooperation Agency project that we have – which is going to advance the ability of local government to speak to each other when it comes on to passing information – we will strengthen our ability right across the country. That is a major achievement .. since 2016 we have got into a grant agreement with the Japanese, and we are well advanced. And by the year 2025, you will see a new dispensation in how the local authorities, working with OPDEM (Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management) will be able to respond,” McKenzie said.