Monday 7th April, 2025
Minister for Information and Communications Technology, Hon. Timothy Masiu, reiterated the government’s commitment to advancing Papua New Guinea’s digital transformation agenda at the Artificial Intelligence Summit 2025, with a strong call to prioritize investment in Digital ID as a critical national digital public infrastructure.
Speaking at the AI Summit hosted by the International Training Institute in Port Moresby today, Monday 7th April, Minister Masiu outlined the strides the government has made in laying the foundation for a digital government.
He highlighted key policies and ongoing digital initiatives that are transforming how government delivers services and how citizens interact with the government.
“Since taking office in 2019, we have pursued an ambitious digital transformation agenda grounded in clear and deliberate policy instruments, including the Digital Transformation Policy 2020, the Government Cloud Policy 2023—which has already seen the onboarding of over 146 government agencies to our Government cloud infrastructure—the Data Governance and Protection Policy 2024, and the Cyber Security Strategy 2024, which advances the work of our National Cybersecurity Centre,” Minister Masiu stated.
He noted that these reforms in line with the Digital Government Act 2022, which provides the overarching legal framework to drive digital transformation across government agencies.
Currently, the government is implementing the Digital Government Plan 2023–2027, a whole-of-government strategy designed to eliminate silos and foster integrated service delivery.
Key initiatives under the plan include:
- The G2B Single Window Portal, led by PNG Customs, aimed at streamlining trade and business licensing.
- The eProcurement System, spearheaded by the National Procurement Commission, which is reducing public tendering timelines from months to days.
- The eCabinet System, managed by the Office of the National Executive Council, aimed at digitizing executive decision-making processes.
Among the most anticipated developments is the upcoming launch of SevisPass—Papua New Guinea’s first Digital ID, which will be fully integrated with the National Identification (NID) database.
“SevisPass will serve as a Digital Public Infrastructure, enabling secure authentication across banking, telecommunications, and government systems,” said Minister Masiu. “It will also unlock Single Sign-On access to a wide array of services, including the upcoming SevisPortal, a G2C digital services app that will host up to 15 citizen services—from eVoting to school fee subsidy applications—in one platform.”
The economic and social impact of a fully implemented Digital ID system is expected to be transformative. Minister Masiu outlined several benefits:
- A projected 3–5% increase in GDP over the next 3 to 5 years.
- Enabling 2 million new customers in banking, telecoms, and e-commerce by easing identity verification.
- Increased government revenue through improved tax compliance.
- Digital inclusion for over 4 million rural citizens, ensuring access to government services such as education subsidies, agriculture support, and SME financing.
- Enhanced democratic integrity through biometric voting by 2027.
- Improved public safety and border control via centralized ID verification.
However, Minister Masiu explained that progress on SevisPass has been slowed due to budgetary constraints.
“Despite the progress we’ve made, SevisPass has faced funding challenges in 2024 —including a K7 million budget shortfall.”
“To fully realise its impact, investment in Digital ID as a national digital public infrastructure must be prioritized,” Masiu urged.
Minister Masiu revealed that the Department of ICT is in the final stages of completing a National AI Adoption Framework, which will guide responsible and inclusive AI deployment in Papua New Guinea.