WASHINGTON, DC – Jamaica’s US$2 million Customs Automated Services (CASE) solution is to be implemented in Antigua & Barbuda, under a tri-partite cooperation agreement the Organization of American States (OAS) signed today with the governments of Jamaica and Antigua & Barbuda.
Antigua and Barbuda’s Minister of Finance and the Economy, Dr. Errol Cort, signed the agreement along with Director General of Jamaica’s Tax Office Vinnette Keene, and OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza.
Launched in 2003, the CASE solution was developed by the Jamaican government to address customs challenges unique to small states like Jamaica. The Internet-based system was designed primarily to provide the trading community all over the world an online interaction with Jamaica Customs. Since its inception, CASE has increased revenue for the government of Jamaica by 350 per cent. The program has also enhanced transparency and accountability of the customs authority.
“We believe that a significant improvement to our Customs Division will go a long way in reducing the transaction costs to businesses operating Antigua and Barbuda and improve the business climate,” declared Minister Cort, noting the Caribbean country’s efforts to foster private sector-led growth. “The project is important for us from the standpoint that it goes a long way in further enshrining the importance of governance in small developing island states in the Caribbean,” Minister Cort said, adding that Antigua and Barbuda’s business climate stands to move up “several notches” in efficiency when this CASE software is implemented.
Meanwhile, Keene, who is also Chair of Fiscal Services Limited—the Jamaican government company that developed the software—hailed the agreement as “an important step in the process of collaboration and development in the Caribbean region.” She described the agreement with Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica and the OAS as a particularly significant initiative as the transfer of capacity through technology is being done from within the region, “and Jamaica is proud to be the donor country.” Keene further stated that Jamaica was contributing its customs revenue solution model “to support the efforts of the OAS, through the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development (SEDI), as its seeks to exploit the potential of information technology to improve efficiency and transparency in the public sector.”
The OAS’ Secretary General Insulza remarked that “Solutions like CASE are important mechanisms for improving governance in the Caribbean and other countries in Latin America.” He went on to state: “The people of the region have embraced democratic rule. Now they are demanding that their governments be accountable to the people by improving the transparency and efficiency of their operations. The implementation of the CASE solution is one way in which the governments of Jamaica and Antigua and Barbuda are improving governance in their countries.”
Applauding Jamaica’s leadership and generosity in sharing this technology, the OAS Secretary General described the agreement as “an important demonstration of the kind of horizontal cooperation we like to see among our member states. This kind of cooperation is especially important in the Caribbean right now, as they work together toward the Caribbean Single Market and Economy.”
The CASE solution will be introduced to Antigua and Barbuda thanks to the financial support of the Canada-based Institute for Connectivity in the Americas (ICA/IDRC), the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Development Gateway Foundation, the Caribbean Center for Development Administration (CARICAD) and the United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs.
Jamaica’s donation of the CASE package will save the government of Antigua and Barbuda more than US$2 million in research and development investments, and will reduce the implementation time to just 8 months.
