‘Digital Public Service’ examined during Public Service Week forum
THE GOVERNMENT of St.Vincent and the Grenadines is moving ahead with an ambitious digital transformation agenda aimed at making public services faster, more efficient and more accessible to citizens.
This was the focus of the Public Service Digital Innovation Forum, hosted by the Caribbean Digital Transformation Project (CDTP) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Digital Transformation and Information on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at the Methodist Church Hall, Kingstown. The forum formed part of activities marking Public Service Week 2026 and brought together public servants, policymakers, and information technology professionals and other stakeholders to discuss the future of digital government in St.Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG). The event was held under the United Nations Public Service Day theme, “Transforming Public Institutions: Advancing Innovation, Participation and Inclusion”.
Delivering the keynote address, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Digital Transformation and Information, Senator Laverne King, outlined the government’s vision for a more connected public service, where citizens can access government services through integrated digital platforms rather than navigating multiple agencies. King announced that a new tax information management system is being readied to become operational next year. The platform is expected to allow citizens to conduct transactions, including paying for licences and other government services, online, reducing the need to visit government offices in person. The junior minister also highlighted work being carried out to modernise the country’s civil registry. “We are modernising our civil registry and building up a unique ID system, the foundational layer that will allow other government services to recognize a citizen once and serve them everywhere thereafter.”
She explained that the unique identification system will become the foundation of a broader digital government framework, enabling ministries and departments to securely share information thus eliminating the need for citizens to repeatedly provide the same documents or personal information when accessing government services. King further revealed that land information is also coming up for review.
“We also have a unified land information system under development to give us for the first time, a single digital window for land property transactions.”
She said the government has also developed its own electronic payment platform to support digital transactions.
“We have built a home grown government E-payment platform and are now working to integrate it with our banking sector,” King told those attending the forum.
She said the government is also investing in people by ensuring citizens and businesses have the skills needed to operate in an increasingly digital economy. A national programme, she said, will be rolled out during the second half of this year to train individuals and help small enterprises adopt the digital tools necessary to improve productivity and remain competitive. “We already have connectivity infrastructure linking most of our islands and institutions and we have evidence that our own people are ready.”
Ending her address, the junior minister stressed that strong cybersecurity measures and data protection legislation are essential to building public trust and delivering modern government services.
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