Public Servants Undergo Training On ESW

BARBADOS:  Trade facilitation within Barbados is expected to be transformed with the implementation of the Electronic Single Window (ESW).

That was the message of Deputy Project Coordinator of the Barbados Competitiveness Programme (BCP), Delano Scantlebury, to nearly 25 participants in the two-day ESW’s Train-the-Trainer Session for some government agencies.
The training ended today and participants included employees of Plant Quarantine, Veterinary Services, Food Safety and the Department of Commerce.
Mr. Scantlebury told the participants that their continued partnership was critical to ensuring the successful implementation of “this truly transformational project”.
Reminding the participants that the ESW belonged to them and they must therefore take the knowledge back to their work colleagues, he urged them to play their part in Barbados’ trade facilitation renaissance which would benefit all.
He continued: “Government’s overall plan is to address competitiveness matters in Barbados. The ESW facility is expected by all stakeholders to profoundly transform the nature of private/public sector relations and interface, and should therefore be seen fundamentally as a tool for promoting good e-governance in the country.
“However, the most immediate and direct benefits of the facility will accrue to traders, who stand to gain significantly from the anticipated improvements within the trade in goods supply chain.”
An electronic single window is an environment that facilitates the electronic submission of standardised international trade and transport-related documents to a single point. The Barbados Electronic Single Window is being implemented by A-T Solutions, at a cost of US$4.7 million. A-T Solutions is a US-based firm owned by the PAE conglomerate.
Giving the background to the ESW, he said a loan was signed in 2010 between the Inter-American Development Bank and Government to jointly finance the implementation of the Barbados Competitiveness Programme. Its cost is US$11.8 million, of which, the IDB is providing loan funds of up to US$10.0 million and Government US$1.8 million.
Mr. Scantlebury explained that the objective of the BCP was to improve the island’s competitiveness by way of addressing key bottlenecks affecting the efficient movement of goods in Barbados, and by supporting other trade and investment promotion activities, with a view of promoting export development and increasing private investment.
sharon.austingill-moore@barbados.gov.bb