By LETRE SWEETING

Tribune Staff Reporter

lsweeting@tribunemedia.net

FRUSTRATION with the official Bahamas government website has led to a decline in its use, according to Wayne Watson, Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

He announced yesterday that a six-month project would revamp the website to create a more helpful experience for users.

His ministry and the Department of Information and Communications Technology have partnered with Netclues Incorporated, a website design and development company, to rebuild the website.

It is unclear how much the project will cost.

“Users are frustrated, and in many instances dissatisfied with the website’s functionality and performance,” Mr Watson told reporters during a press conference.

“Many of the functionalities and features are either outdated or what we refer to in technology as antiquated. Some standard features are no longer working. We have seen a decline in the use and access of the government’s website.

“The other day, I was trying to find all the permanent secretaries, and all the information wasn’t in there. We do have challenges with updated information and data. And last, but not least, we do have some security concerns on our existing government’s website.”

“The design does not easily support decentralisation of functions to support ministries, departments and agencies. The current platform cannot accommodate new technologies, for instance, mobile computing and online payments.”

“The official website serves as a digital public-facing for the government, which was designed from the inception to be a one-stop shop with a single sign-on for all visitors. “Simply put, the new technology platform will integrate with the government’s website and other government ministries, departments and agencies, and will also filter into consideration the agency’s social media feeds.”

Mr Watson said a goal of the project is to appeal to young people by making features on the website more accessible on mobile devices.

“Our millennials, they’re not concerned about using tablets, they’re not concerned about using laptops,” he said. “They want to sit under the tree or they want to sit on the bed or they want to sit in front of their televisions and access the government website using their mobile devices. The current website doesn’t accommodate that.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology handles the internal web content and creation of websites for different ministries, departments and agencies. There are currently 18,000 registered users on the government’s website. The site also hosts approximately 39 websites directly and 42 additional self-servicing independent government websites.