Audrey Marks Details Jamaica Digital Government Push to Cut Red Tape

Ambassador Audrey Marks says Jamaica's digital transformation drive is being used to speed public services and reduce red tape. In her 2026-2027 Sectoral Debate presentation, the minister for efficiency, innovation and digital transformation linked the push to Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness' 2024 call for results through efficiency and fewer bureaucratic barriers.

Marks said the Office of the Information and Communications Technology Authority became operational in April 2025 to strengthen governance and coordinate technology across government. The electronic motor vehicle registration platform and digital fitness certificate have processed 1.1 million registrations online, the TAJ mobile app has more than 40,000 users, and digital signatures now let people and businesses submit or receive authenticated documents without paper or in-person wet-ink signing. About 103,089 traffic ticket warrants have already been signed electronically by judges, and motorists can check status at trafficticketlookup.gov.jm.

PayGate added six government entities in the last financial year and handled more than 1 million transactions for property tax, business tax, motor vehicle fitness and registration fees, and other charges through the TAJ app, Marks said. For 2026-2027, the Government plans a digital document wallet for birth certificates, national ID cards and other civic records, plus GovNotify for reminders and updates by email, SMS and WhatsApp. She also pointed to the once-only bureaucracy principle, using the Jamaica Data Exchange Platform so information given once can be securely reused across ministries, departments and agencies with consent.

At NIRA, 24-hour online services now cover birth, death and marriage certificates, national ID cards and other documents. Marks said its document recovery programme processed more than 47,500 applications after Hurricane Melissa and has been permanently institutionalised for people affected by fires, floods and other emergencies. Mobile units bought for the National Identification Card Project are due in all constituencies in the second half of 2026 with MPs, councillors, community groups, churches and schools. She said NIRA has expanded ID card locations, is seeking legal changes so the national ID card can prove a person is licensed to drive and allow fully online renewal without a separate physical driver's licence every five years, and expects same-day civil registration by the end of the financial year. A NIRA learning centre is in place; more than 229 employees and 1,000 marriage officers and civil registrars have received specialised training.

Jamaica Post is being repositioned for digital access, government services, logistics and e-commerce. Marks said it is working with Yello Jamaica Limited on a pilot digital postcode and address system, has expanded express mail from 25 to 66 post offices, plans 44 more in 2026-2027 and is targeting 150 sites by the next financial year. Parcel deliveries to the United States have resumed under a delivered duty paid system that calculates duties online and remits them to US Customs. With $224 million from the IDB and a $6.8 million Universal Postal Union grant for internet service, post offices are also to become one-stop access points for online government services. Under the National Identification System Needs Project, 23 post offices are being refurbished; the Central Sorting Office, Liguanea, Mona and Half-Way Tree are complete. A national solution registry will also take ideas from Jamaicans at home and abroad, universities and private innovators, with recommendations to be reviewed for action, accelerate deployment and build innovation pipelines.