Government

New BBID & Updated Postal Code At Heart Of Digital Innovation

Four government agencies have come together to realise new innovations that stand to benefit business, health care, financial and emergency services and ultimately every Barbadian here and abroad or those who live in and visit Barbados.

The Ministry of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, the Lands and Surveys Department, the Barbados Postal Service, and the Electoral and Boundaries Commission – Electoral Department are launching an effort to make life easier for Barbadians, especially when called on to provide multiple pieces of documentation as proof of their address, in order to do business.

The Barbados Building Identifier (BBID) initiative, developed by the Barbados Lands and Surveys Department and awarded the prestigious 2023 Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award, provides a unique identification of all building structures on the island using modern technological location tools and a digital map of buildings.

The Lands and Survey Department received the Public Service Excellence Award on Independence Day, 2024, for its work with the BBID.

The BBID is a tool for delivering precise and reliable directions to various buildings. With a six-character identification code assigned to each building, the BBID simplifies the process of locating any structure in Barbados.

By adopting the BBID, critical agencies, such as ambulance, fire, and police services, can quickly pinpoint properties, ensuring timely assistance in emergencies. And businesses involved in delivery services and transportation can benefit from the simplicity and efficiency offered by the BBID.

But perhaps the most anticipated innovation relates to removing the need for multiple proofs of address through the integration of the BBID into the postal code by the Barbados Postal Service, and the verification of those addresses as part of the standard practice of the Electoral and Boundaries Commission – Electoral Department.

Once a person’s address has been confirmed/verified, he or she will no longer require utility bills or confirmation letters from a landlord, parent, or spouse. The service provider will be able to read the chip on the ID card and have an individual enter their secure PIN to receive proof of their verified address. The mobile ID, when launched, will provide even more options for secure proof of address.

The updated postal code meets International Addressing Standards, eliminating the use of lot numbers and less accurate descriptions, such as “corner of”, that are commonly used today. For your updated postal code, the parish identifier is dropped and the remaining BBID is added to the old postal code to derive the updated postal code, for example, BB23020-24OK5.

Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, Marsha Caddle, lauds the inter-agency effort being coordinated by the Ministry, and the steps each department’s effort represents in adding value to the effectiveness of the digital ID.

She said: “Ultimately, innovation and technology are meant to help remove the nuisances that drain our time and focus and make us less productive. The Lands and Surveys Department, the Barbados Postal Service, and the Electoral and Boundaries Commission – Electoral Department are giving us the precision in addressing what banks and other service providers can rely on to facilitate people’s business. I’m proud of their work and pleased with their partnership.”

Manager of Information Systems at the Lands and Surveys Department, Paul Collymore, stated: “Our system stands out because it’s simple and efficient. Unlike Google Maps’ lengthy coordinates, the BBID offers a concise and memorable code, streamlining location services for both locals and tourists. Using the BBID means that you will accurately reach your destination, unlike other mapping systems, which can place you a house or even a road away from where you want to be.”

Postmaster General, Joann Busby, has welcomed the BBID and its integration with the Barbados Postal Code, stating that “people will now have a postal code that is unique to their address and not simply allocated to the area they live in”.

Chief Electoral Officer, Sherland Turton, emphasised the importance of address verification to the integrity and accuracy of information and the electoral process, and thanked the public for having participated for decades in this regular process with willingness and patience.

Residents should look out for their postal workers and staff of the Electoral Department. They will visit their homes to provide them with their BBID and updated postal code and verify their address. (PR/GIS)

Government

Employees Must Be Allowed Reasonable Period For Voting

Employers are reminded that on polling day for the by-election in St. James North on Wednesday, May 21, they must allow each elector in their employ who resides in that constituency a reasonable period of not less than one hour for voting.

Employers must not make any deductions from wages, salaries or any other remuneration, or impose upon the elector any penalty due to their absence for the period of voting.

According to the Election Offences and Controversies Act, any employer who directly or indirectly refuses, or by intimidation, undue influence, or in any other way interferes with an elector’s right to vote, is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $500 or to imprisonment for six months.

For more information on Election Offences, members of the public should call the Electoral and Boundaries Commission at 535-4800.

Government

UTT Students In Barbados For Study Tour

Students pursuing the Master’s programmes in Innovation, Manufacturing, Management and Entrepreneurship as well as Innovative Design and Entrepreneurship at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT) are currently on island for a study tour.

The tour is being done in collaboration with the Ministries of Innovation, Science and Technology; Energy and Business; and Training and Tertiary Education.

Speaking yesterday while visiting a local business, Assistant Professor of the Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship Units at UTT, Dr. Jorrel Bisnath, explained that the students participating in these specific areas were chosen because the university and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago have recognised them as being critical for sustainable development.

According to Dr. Bisnath, the UTT hopes that initiatives like the study tour will expose the students to the best of professional business practices while simultaneously helping them to mature in a very short space of time, since they are being exposed to over 12 companies.

“Every year, we identify a regional economy that is of value or in alignment with our objectives, within the programme, which is to support manufacturing, entrepreneurship and innovation, and our students are expected to identify what best practices take place in these economies, … compare them to Trinidad and Tobago, [and] look for opportunities for integration, development, adoption and also growth,” he stated.

He added that this type of exposure allows the students to exercise their corporate skills and professional expectations and also helps them to easily integrate into regional work environments.

“We know that for us as a region to progress we must develop these inherent talents… and in viewing and visiting the companies that we’ve been exposed to here, I think it would have been apparent that we are doing so many things very well, but they’re also quite well kept secrets.

“We went to Lenstec today, which is a world class manufacturing facility right here in Barbados. We went to McBrides, who is a leading distributor of aerosols across the region and delving into North America as well… and all of these companies have told us that Barbados is not a manufacturing economy.”

The UTT professor noted that although countries like Trinidad and Barbados are producing ‘world class outputs with limited resources’, there is a struggle in trying to achieve specific goals, even though there is an input of work because there is also a lack of sharing and collaboration.

“I think opportunities like this really open our eyes and exposes our students to what the possibility is for them and how they can contribute… and to be afforded the support that the Government of Barbados has provided, I think has gone a long way to help with that integration and our development, so we are truly grateful.

Minister of Training and Tertiary Education, Sandra Husbands, acknowledged that Trinidad has been leading the region in manufacturing, setting the example for Barbados, but added: “We do not have to buy somebody else’s property; we can produce a quality product here.”

She continued: “Barbados is following suit. We have just started to do some investment in an international food centre to help us to begin to do the Agro-processing that we need to do, and to be able to encourage our small innovators to begin to think big and to think in terms of export.”

The Minister revealed that her Ministry will be opening the Agricultural Institute in Hope, St. Lucy, to be able to help the country to build its skills in agriculture, especially within a climate challenged environment.

“We’ve seen the impact, … but we want to go further than just simply produce food for immediate consumption as is, but to be able to lay the foundation for Agro-processing and to be able to start producing products. I firmly believe that if we are going to deal with the NCDs that plague our region, and especially in Barbados, I know they don’t have it quite as much in the other islands, but we definitely have a problem here.

“We have to look at our domestic foods and look at how we can produce a new family line of snacks that are healthy and that are attractive…. I think if we could actually create some type of product that is healthy, I believe that we can make a tremendous difference. So, I really, truly welcome having you here, and I trust that for you, this particular experience here in Barbados will empower and energise you. I’ll be looking to see you producing things in the future and offering yourselves, across the region to help us build capacity,” she told the visiting students. (PR/GIS)

Caption: Minister of Training and Tertiary Education, Sandra Husbands, and officials pose for a photograph with Assistant Professor of the Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing and Entrepreneurship Units at the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT), Dr. Jorrel Bisnath (third from left), and students, during a visit to a local business

Government

Nominations Invited For Pride Of Barbados Award – St. Philip

Barbadians at home and abroad are invited to submit nominations for the Pride of Barbados Award 2025 for the parish of St. Philip, to the National Honours and Decorations Advisory Council, by Monday, June 30.

Nominations for the parish of St. Philip should be made via the links:

https://eforms.gov.bb/sc/prideofbarbadosaward – Pride of Barbados Award Portal
https://eforms.gov.bb/f/pbaStPhilip – Nomination Form – St. Philip.

Persons submitting biographical data for the individual being nominated are encouraged to follow the suggested format by viewing this template.

Section 19 of the Barbados National Honours and Decorations Act 2021 states the award of The Pride of Barbados may be conferred by the President in accordance with the Awardof Pride of Barbados Act, 2019(Act 2019-52).

The Pride of Barbados Award is given to a person who is a citizen of Barbados or entitled to be registered as a citizen, or a permanent resident, and through sacrifice, diligence, and dedication to service has made an outstanding contribution to community life in a parish, or to the improvement of economic and social conditions in a parish.

These awards shall be conferred on persons who reside in a parish in Barbados and have been nominated by persons who live in the respective parish.

They shall also be conferred on persons who formerly resided in a parish in Barbados but now reside abroad, and who are nominated by persons who reside in the parish or used to reside in the parish but now live overseas. (PR/GIS)