Introducing: Digital Payments for Employment Permits!
If you’ve been discouraged in the past to seek a temporary employment permit because of the tedious task it involves, your effort now is just a couple clicks on your keyboard from the comfort of your home. The Ministry of E-Governance is taking command of the digital era and bringing it to your fingertips for almost every service provided by the government, and today, it did so yet again by integrating the payments for employment permits online. News Five’s Marion Ali was at the launch ceremony at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel and filed this report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Today, another service provided by the government was made available online, creating ease of access and eliminating the need to visit a government office and stand in a line. The online portal is for people, including foreign employers who want to apply for temporary employment permits for foreign employees.Making it possible required a collaborative effort on the part of the ministries of E-Governance and Labour, as well as the Belize Bank which facilitates the digital payments. Minister of E-Governance, Michel Chebat says that this is part of what the government promised.
Michel Chebat
Michel Chebat, Minister of E-Governance
“As part of our digital agenda, the government is committed to making the interaction with the public and government services easier, so this is a first step. What we are trying to do is that when the public needs to interact with the government for some type of service, they can do it from any location, whether or not they have a bank account or not, so we’re trying to make it accessible to everyone.”
Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Chris Coye explained that the service will benefit a lot of people in the fields of agriculture and the arts, particularly.
Chris Coye
Chris Coye, Minister of State, Finance
“It allows an opportunity for efficient processing of applications for persons in agriculture and that in the arts, in entertainment, culture, professional technical skilled personnel, so there is quite a bit of improved service on the labour end.”
But these are not the only areas where the public can access online service provided by the Government.
Michel Chebat
“One of the comments you heard from Mr Guiseppi was the need to introduce this into the court system and so we’re not only going to be looking at that but we’re looking at other services that the government provides to see how this concept can translate to those services.”
Partnering with government in this venture was the Belize Bank to offer its E-Kyash digital currency. For people who use other forms of digital payment services, however, Chebat said those will also be added to make it all inclusive. E-Kyash became a partner to the service through the tendering of a bid.
Marion Ali For News Five
