IDB report says government transactions burdensome

The length of time it takes to carry out a transaction with government agencies continues to be a sore point for citizens, according to one of Barbados’ development partners who is recommending that improvements take place more quickly.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) said there was evidence that while citizens in the Caribbean tend to enjoy shorter wait times than their counterparts in Latin America, an average of 4.3 hours per transaction versus 5.3 hours in Latin America, they are nevertheless “burdened with having to return to public offices repeatedly.

In fact, in its publication Wait No More: Citizens, Red Tape, and Digital Government, the Caribbean Edition, the authors said over 30 per cent of transactions required three visits or more.

“Similarly, though the rates of bribery are generally lower than in Latin America, they are still considerable, ranging from nine to 27 per cent. The relatively incipient development of digital government in the region highlights that there is much room for improvement for reducing the overall transactional burden for citizens and making their experiences with government more efficient,” it said.

The report identified several problems with government transactions including the slow pace and high costs for both citizens and firms.

According to the report, it takes an average of 4.8 hours to complete a government transaction in Barbados, better than the 5.9 hours it takes in Guyana, but worse than the 4.1 hours it takes in Jamaica, 3.9 hours in Trinidad and Tobago and 2.8 hours in the Bahamas.

In the case of the Caribbean, 26 per cent of all government transactions were completed in less than an hour, as opposed to 21 percent in Latin America.

“Fifty-one per cent required two hours or more for successful completion, 21 per cent needed five hours or more, and 8 per cent, 10 hours or more,” the report said.

It further noted that in Jamaica, just 11 per cent of all transactions were completed in one visit, and more than 45 per cent of all transactions required three or more visits to a public office to be completed.

“In Barbados, only 23 per cent of the transactions were completed in one visit, and 43 per cent required three visits or more,” it added.

Acknowledging that multiple interactions can happen for various reasons, it said multiple interactions generate transaction costs for citizens even if every individual visit is short.

“In addition to the difficulties for citizens, these multiple interactions also imply efficiency losses for the government, which is forced to earmark more resources for providing citizen services. Finally, it also raises questions about attrition: it is plausible that the more interactions that a transaction requires, the greater the probability that people abandon the process,” it pointed out.

The 56-page document pointed out that digital transactions could “solve many of the problems facing modern bureaucracies” since they were faster, cheaper to provide, and less vulnerable to corruption.

“Unfortunately, implementation and use of digital transactions in the region is extremely low – only eight per cent of citizens in the Caribbean report having carried out their last government transaction online,” it said.

The survey showed however, that Barbados had the highest average of 17 per cent of those surveyed who said their last government transaction was through a digital channel.

The report recognized that Barbados was among countries in the region carrying out programmes to boost competitiveness and improve citizen engagement, as it highlighted government’s US$40 million Public Sector Modernization programme, which is being funded by the IDB.

While there continued to be concerns about the lingering issues relating to carrying out a transaction with government, the document pointed out that in general, the large majority of citizens was satisfied with these transactions.

“One possible explanation is that citizens see the difficulty of the transaction, manifested in requirements and paperwork, as a proxy for protection against fraud,” it explained.

The bank puts forward several recommendations, saying authorities should study the citizen experience with government transactions so they can better identify problems and fix them effectively; eliminate as many government transactions as possible; redesign government transactions with the citizen experience in mind; facilitate access to digital transactions; and invest in high quality face-to-face government transactions.

With some 90 per cent of government transactions still being carried out in person in the Caribbean, the IDB said while progress was being made in digital development, it was vital to improve the most commonly used and, in some  cases, most preferred, channel of service provision – face-to-face.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb