Govt forging ahead with bill to boost e-business, governance

The Government is forging ahead with a bill that will pave the way for the electronic transmission of documents and remote transactions, something that will further eliminate the need for people to leave their homes in these perilous COVID-19 times.

According to a notice in the media, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Bill 2019, will be subject to public consultations. Persons have up to November 2, 2020, to submit comments and suggestions on the bill to the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce.
The bill seeks to ensure that electronic communication is recognised by law and, acceptable for business and Government transactions. It means that any preexisting legal requirement to submit documents in paper form will be removed when the bill is passed.
In granting legal status to such electronic documents, Section 8 of the bill states, “Where any information or other matter is required by law to be given or rendered in writing or recorded in writing or in printed form or is described by law as being written, then, notwithstanding anything contained in that law, the requirement or description is satisfied if the information or matter is – (a) rendered or recorded or made available in electronic form; and (b) accessible to, and is capable of retention by, the intended recipient so as to be usable or retrievable for a subsequent reference.”
In the bill’s explanatory memorandum, it was explained that the Government has been hindered from fully implementing e-services. This is because of an inadequate legal framework and protection, as well as conflicting legal provisions. As such, this bill seeks to improve the legal framework, so that citizens can conduct transactions from the comfort of their homes.
“Government is currently unable to fully implement e-Government services due to inadequate legal framework and protection as well as some existing conflicting provisions in various laws. This lack of legal framework and uncertainty is inhibiting the development of electronic-commerce and e-Government activity in Guyana and fostering the adherence to traditional business and transaction models,” the memorandum said.
It was further explained by the bill that there are many advantages with using ICT platforms to conduct transactions, over the old paper model of operations. The bill acknowledged a stark reality in Guyana, however. The unwillingness of the local population to conduct business through e-services, due to the lack of reliability and legal framework.
“Consumers and the business community, including banks and commercial organisations are increasingly using computer and other related technologies to create, transmit and store information in electronic form instead of on traditional paper documents.”
“Information stored in electronic form has many advantages as it is cheaper, easier to store and retrieve and speedier to communicate. Even though the general public is aware of all these advantages, many members are reluctant to conduct business or conclude any transaction in electronic form due to lack of an appropriate legal framework,” the bill also states.
With the onset of COVID-19 in Guyana, institutions such as banks have ramped up their online presence, encouraging customers to use available online platforms to do their transactions, rather than physically come into the bank.
Government agencies, such as the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), have been encouraging citizens to conduct their transactions online. These include applications for work permits, gratuity and pension benefits and other services it facilitates out of its Taxpayer Services Division.
The agency has also encouraged taxpayers to use its online platforms to submit tax returns. There have been complaints from the citizenry, however, about the efficiency of these online platforms.
As of October 10, Guyana has recorded 47 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total number of novel coronavirus cases here up 3405. Of these, however, only 999 are active cases including 16 patients in the COVID-19 ICU and the other 893 in isolation.