Prime Minister's speech on a Human-centered Government

“Good morning ladies and gentlemen. And to our special guests, welcome to our dushi Aruba! A special thank you to the Central Bank of Aruba for the invitation and the opportunity to address you all this morning at the 3rd Annual Innovation Conference. This year’s topic is “Digital Transformation & The Future of Governance” and this could not have come at a better time. Around the globe, technology is rapidly transforming economies and society as we know it. As a nation, we have a choice. A very simple choice. We can either invest in innovation, or risk falling behind. An existential risk that, as you all know, our small island cannot afford. We owe it to the Aruban people and we owe it to our future generations to have a bullish no-holds-barred approach to helping our island leapfrog into an innovative future. For this to happen, we have to realize that the future of governance touches every single one of us. It is not just a public sector matter, it is not only a political matter, but a whole-of-nation matter. When we think of the public sector, I doubt the first thing that comes to mind is: “Well that’s an innovative sector”……. When we have to stand in long lines in the burning sun to pay for our license plates, or wait on the phone, or navigate a non-user-friendly website that was paid with your tax money, no doubt it can be frustrating. What if I tell you that governments not only can be innovators, but they can be catalysts for accelerating a nation-wide innovation movement.
I probably lost most of you when I used the words government and innovator in the same sentence. But stay with me….

I have a vision. A vision of a service-oriented government. A future-focused government, where our people have seamless access to all key government services, where information is at their fingertips. A government that understands that the citizen’s experience with government transactions is as important, if not more important, than the outcome of the transaction itself. Our private sector also deserves to have a seamless public service experience. So that you can focus on your businesses, on being better corporate citizens, and help drive inclusive growth. Yesterday, we held our first encounter with a select group of government agencies and key stakeholders to kick off the e-Government and Digital Transformation journey for Aruba. Perhaps, in and on itself, this may seem like a mundane event. But I was there, and I saw firsthand the enthusiasm of the group and I felt the commitment in the room. This is a significant milestone in our journey toward becoming the human-centered government of the future. The public sector is as ready as it ever will be, to take on this challenge because of our shared purpose. Innovation is a means to an end and e-Government is merely a tool, but an important one. Digital transformation is about enhancing the quality of life of our people, and our goals are fully aligned with the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I am not saying it will be a ‘walk in the park’. Digital transformation and e-Government can and will likely bring up some resistance. The process of e-Government is about re-inventing the way we govern. It goes far beyond moving from paper to digital and will require a profound change in mindset.
Despite the limitations of our current system, there are innovative things happening in government. New ways of working, new partnerships, new technologies to better serve the public. It’s time to break the silos for once and for all and reward those that are charting the path. We have an opportunity now to get the foundation right for our future generations. The decisions we make today and over the course of the next couple of months will be crucial in setting the direction for the future of our nation. Our vision for Aruba is that we not only become a digitally transformed Government, but also to improve our people’s lives, and off course that we can grow into a model that can be shared with the world. Developing our e-Government also supports the development of our knowledge economy, which is an important building block in achieving a balanced growth model; all this within the boundaries of our island’s carrying capacity.

What can you expect?

Systemic change does not happen overnight. But you have my commitment that we will pull all the resources and capital we realistically can allocate to the achievement of our Digital Transformation goal. Change is never easy. Particularly when change is happening fast. Former President Obama once said “if a problem had an obvious solution to it, then someone else would have solved it before you got to look at it.” What this means it that each situation requires different perspectives. It’s important to have the best people around the table and the right mix of partners to look at all the sides of a problem. This will allow us to make the best possible decision at every turn and it will keep us moving forward.

How are we going to do this?

First: We are not going to over-engineer. We will learn by doing, and we will share with you our wins and our mistakes.
Second: We will have an e-Government road map by the end of the second quarter of 2019. We will develop and share with you a concrete and realistic long-term plan of action, while addressing quick-wins.
Third: We will be transparent. This journey is for, by and with our citizens. There is no other way.
Fourth: We won’t do it alone. With your support, our public and private sectors, our NGOs, our entrepreneurs and academia, and most importantly, we will do this together with our citizens.
Fifth: We will learn a lot along the way. And my wish is that we truly embrace this opportunity and become a learning organization, and a learning nation.

It will be a transformative and transparent journey and I hope I can count on your support to achieve this very important goal of changing the way we govern, to better serve our people. Change is hard at first. It will likely get messy somewhere in the middle. But it will be worth it at the end. Thank you.“