Oranjestad- During the past weeks, a number of initiatives have been started on St. Eustatius from within the Directorate of Public Affairs and Support (DPO), which includes the departments of Personnel Affairs, Finance, and ICT, in close cooperation with AFAS Software, ICT consultant Mr. Enrique Vasquez, and others. This according to information released today by the office of Commissioner Charles Woodley.

The initiatives, according to the Commissioner’s office, are a follow-up to recent meetings in Curaçao between between representatives of the Government in Statia and delegates of AFAS, Versant Resource Center, Cft, KPMG, and Mr. Vasquez. The project is aimed at improving the functioning and structure of the local Government by addressing the issues outlined in the Plan of Approach which has been established.

According to Commissioner Woodley, during working sessions between the different departments and the consultants of AFAS, the many possibilities of the system and training needs have been discussed.

The Commissioner says that it has been established in the meantime, that the AFAS-system currently is not being used at its full potential as of yet. To address this fact, during the coming period, a project team consisting of employees from different departments will guide the full implementation of the system across the entire organization.

Beside the Finance and Personnel departments, the Harbor, Airport, Licensing department, Archives, Central Purchasing, Internal affairs, the Executive and Island Councils will also be included.

According to Commissioner Woodley, individual authorized users will be able to access the system’s web-interface by downloading and using an app. The Commissioner expects that activating these functionalities, will allow the entire organization to work more efficiently and environmentally friendly and, in the end, be more in control.