The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is working with key government agencies to connect their digital systems and improve the way information is shared across government.
The issue was discussed at a stakeholder meeting held at the Internal Revenue Commission (IRC) headquarters in Port Moresby on September 2.
Senior officials from DICT, IRC, Investment Promotion Authority (IPA), Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC), Motor Vehicle Insurance Limited (MVIL) and the Department of Commerce and Industry attended the meeting.
The focus was on getting government systems to work together, particularly where agencies hold information that is needed by other government offices.
One of the main proposals is to connect the IRC’s Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) with the IPA’s business registration system.
If implemented, the connection would allow the two agencies to securely exchange and check business and taxpayer information.
This would give agencies a clearer view of business records, reduce manual checking and help avoid the same information being entered or requested several times.
It could also make it easier for businesses to deal with government by reducing some of the paperwork involved in registration and compliance.
DICT also discussed the importance of using Digital ID, electronic signatures and trusted digital credentials as government services become more digital.
These systems would give agencies better ways to confirm who is using a service and whether a digital transaction is genuine.
The meeting also looked at government registries that still rely on older or paper-based systems.
The Cooperatives Registry under the Department of Commerce and Industry was one example discussed. Updating such registries would make records easier to manage and access while giving agencies better information for their work.
For DICT, the work also comes with a responsibility to make sure connected government systems are secure.
IRC Acting Commissioner General Sam Loi said data governance, cybersecurity and national digital policies must be considered as agencies connect their systems.
IPA Managing Director Clarence Hoot welcomed the discussions and said stronger connections between agencies would improve information sharing and government services.
The agencies will continue technical discussions to work out how the proposed system connections and registry upgrades can be carried out.
Possible support from the Asian Development Bank’s Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative was also discussed, subject to the necessary approvals.
The work is aimed at a practical change in how government operates: agencies being able to securely share the right information, instead of citizens and businesses having to carry information from one government office to another.