Government moving away from paper

St Vincent and the Grenadines will be the third Caribbean country to implement the Electronic Single Window for Trade Facilitation (ESWIFT) with a commencement date set for 2026, and the move away from paper to digital is predicted as one of the challenges that will arise during the project’s roll-out.

ESWIFT is a digital platform used to automate trade procedures being done under the Digital Transformation Project and is expected to improve ease of doing business for the import and export of goods into and out of the country, in addition to ensuring higher compliance and transparency.

In November 2023, the government of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), signed a contract with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), for the implementation of the ESWIFT, and UNCTAD representatives visited SVG this week to meet with stakeholders, in both the public and private sector, to get feedback and develop a detailed plan to guide the implementation of the project.

Lead Advisor for the ESWIFT Implementation,Terrance Lennard met with the media at the Inland Revenue Department on Monday January, 29, to discuss the intricacies of the platform.

“… the single window for trade, we are looking at extending that automated system to incorporate all government agencies which are involved in the trade supply chain… which engages the public. Whether it is the receipt of an application for processing, processing of any license or document involved in international trade, these agencies would be co-opted under the Single Window for Trade [ESWIFT].”

“Instead of physically transiting from agency to agency to get whatever license or declaration process, the trading public has one single platform to engage that will process, clear or reject the application,” Leonard explained.

The project implementation is expected to be done in a phased approach before the final testing phase.

Lennard said based on the implementation done in Jamaica and Barbados, the move to a paperless environment is usually the greatest challenge for project users.

“As we implement the Single Window, from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, we document challenges so that we know what to do for the next project. The main challenge I would say is change management that is, persons transitioning from a paper environment or semi-automated to a fully automated or paperless environment. Persons would resist change for various reasons … “Sometimes it is a perceived threat that the system is coming to replace the human resource which is absolutely not the case. It is a tool which is to be used efficiently. We have a change management component of the project that we will implement.”

The bureaucratic process is another challenge Lennard highlighted that has come up in other jurisdictions.

He pointed to the implementation of ESWIFT in Jamaica as a “success story for the world”.

“We saw an immediate boost, a better climate for doing business because the time for clearance was significantly reduced. The revenues increased, revenue protections enhanced, and it was just a better business climate because the use of the automated platform.”

Lennard said the first priority is the establishment of the legislative framework to govern ESWIFT, noting that there must be a ‘model Act’ to focus specifically on the Single Window.

The implementation of the ESWIFT is expected to cost the Government of St Vincent and the Grenadines, US$2,338,400. The system is expected to be fully implemented by June 2026.