KINGSTON: Jamaica (JIS) – Visiting participants in the upcoming Jamaica 55 Diaspora Conference, slated for July 23 to 26 in Kingston, will experience the benefits of the ‘Government at Your Service’ one-stop shop facility, which will be utilised at the event.

This provision will see 11 State agencies collaborating to provide their services to attendees. They include the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency; Registrar General’s Department (RGD); National Housing Trust (NHT); National Insurance Scheme (NIS); and Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ), among others.

Scores of people from the main Diaspora locations of Canada, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, as well as other non-traditional locations, are expected in the island for the biennial conference, which will be held at the Jamaica Conference Centre.

It is anticipated that many of these people will use the opportunity to transact engagements, including passport renewals and updating birth certificates, for which they are expected to benefit from speedy and efficient service delivery with the various agencies engaged.

Chair of the Government at Your Service Committee and RGD Marketing and Planning Manager, Nicole Whyte, said the participating agencies will be endeavouring to meet the needs of the visiting delegates, in recognition of the conference’s duration.

“We will be there from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm offering whatever services they require. We’ll have individual booths, and they can come and conduct the business there,” she said.

Whyte, who outlined some of the services to be offered, noted that persons who, for example, may have black and white versions of their marriage certificates that they want upgraded to the new coloured format, whose documents may have errors for correction or might want additional copies, will be accommodated by the RGD.

“So we (will) offer those services… in such a way that they can transact business on Monday and pick up the certificates on Tuesday. So they are able to come to the conference and transact business, go back to their sessions and when they are ready to leave the conference, they are in possession of what they paid for,” she added.

Director of Citizenship at PICA, Carol Hammond, said that the agency welcomes the opportunity to be a part of Government At your Service, noting that services will be available in three areas. “We will be offering the services for persons who wish to renew their Jamaican passport, for persons who are eligible for unconditional landing to make their application and for persons who wish to apply for citizenship,” she outlined.

Additionally, Hammond said if delegates’ family members travel to the conference, they, too, can apply for the benefit by submitting the requisite documents. These include the original of both sets of certificates.

She advised that conference participants who intend to change their documents or have them adjusted, can submit an application to the Embassy or Consulate closest to them, which will then forward it to the relevant agency, thereby allowing for adequate time for processing and delivery when they get to Jamaica.