Social challenges
Citizens, businesses and government organisations in the Dutch Caribbean must be able to use digitalisation to its full potential. Government services are currently poorly integrated and mostly offline, and little information is exchanged between government organisations. In the absence of proper key registers, information is often entered manually and maintained in multiple places. This is time-consuming and can cause errors. Society is mostly non-digital, and people are less digitally savvy.
About 90% of citizens have access to the internet in their households, which is mainly used for phone and video calling, social media, and streaming. The internet in the Dutch Caribbean is more expensive, slower and more prone to interruptions than in the European Netherlands. Governments, citizens and businesses are often unaware of privacy and cybersecurity implications. Partly because of these circumstances, digitalisation only plays a minor role in many sectors despite offering opportunities to solve problems.
Results achieved by 2023
- The social task has been made more concrete through the introduction of periodic consultations, on-site experts and the expansion of the coordinating team at the Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK).
- The bill to introduce Citizen Service Number (in Dutch, Burgerservicenummer or BSN) and Digital Government Provisions Act (BES) facilities is ready in draft form and has been consulted.
- Bonaire is connected to the VNG’s Information Security Service.
- A digitalisation project leader has been appointed on Saba with assistance from BZK.
- Saba and St. Eustatius have begun to renew their websites to make them digitally accessible and technically ready for DigiD and digital services.
- In cooperation with EUTEL and sea cable company SSCS, a pilot setup improved the internet quality at the Governor De Graaff School.
Goals & indicators
| Goals | Indicators |
|---|---|
| 1. Government services have an equivalent level of quality to those in the European Netherlands, both at the service desk and online. This is based on equal facilities and standards as much as possible, requesting data from the source (key registers). Governments in the Dutch Caribbean are accessible, high-quality service providers for citizens and businesses. The preconditions are satisfied. |
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| 2. Everyone in the Dutch Caribbean must be able to participate in the digital society. More people have internet access and value for money has improved. Citizens use secure devices online. They also know what they can do in standard situations. There is help and support for people who need it, and people know how to find it. |
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| 3. The digital transition in the Dutch Caribbean has broadened to other sectors. The use of digital technology in everyday life is normalised. Digitalisation is used efficiently in sectors to solve island-wide and other challenges. |
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What are our forthcoming actions?
To find out the goals we are setting for the upcoming year to achieve digital maturity in the Dutch Caribbean, see priority 5.1 actions.
