RGD to reintroduce islandwide delivery service
To support its digitisation process, the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) is looking to reintroduce islandwide delivery, which would make it easier for customers to access its services seamlessly, from start to finish.
The entity recently rolled out three new online products – an online application facility for adoption certificates, a real-time search engine for entry numbers, which are needed to apply for birth and death certificates, and an online wedding registry service.
Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, Floyd Green, confirmed that while the agency is working to have 100 per cent of its services accessible online, additional steps are still needed “especially as we accelerate the pace at which we try to bring down the in-store customer load.”
“A lot of the customer load comes from doing the application [online], but then having to go to pick up the actual document. [So] we are looking to reintroduce our islandwide delivery service,” he said
He was speaking at the launch of the new online services at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Kingston on August 17.
RGD’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Charlton McFarlane, who spoke at the event, said the Department is looking to engage couriers to provide the delivery service.
“The move is a direct response to the expressed demands of our customers who are increasingly looking for fast, efficient and easy access to our services. A delivery service will mean that some persons will now be able to conduct complete transactions – from application to receipt of the certificate – without physically visiting our offices,” he said.
According to the CEO, the plan is for the service to be rolled out between December 2022 and January 2023.
The RGD is Jamaica’s sole repository of birth, death, marriage and fetal death records.
It registers approximately 35,000 births, 12,000 marriages and 23,000 deaths annually.