Govt to launch AI-powered portal to enhance delivery of public service to citizens

From an ‘Ask Gov’ portal powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) to a citizen portal and data protection cloud, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government has outlined plans for a comprehensive digital transformation of Guyana.

‘Digital Guyana’ was announced by President Dr Irfaan Ali during a live broadcast on Wednesday.

He explained that this initiative, which will be rolled out in the next five years, is a single gateway to all government services to enhance efficiency and reliability, especially for citizens.

“The People’s Progressive Party/Civic is proud to lead Guyana into this new digital era rooted in innovation, inclusion and efficiency. Digital Guyana is our commitment to building a modern State where technology makes public service faster, faster services more accessible, and more responsive, powered by innovation and anchored by our national e-identification system,” he stated.

This digital transformation initiative will create a conducive environment in Guyana to live, work and raise a family by making processes easier, systems more efficient and reliable, doing business easier, and every single bureaucracy being eased out of the system.

Among the key features of this initiative is a Citizens Portal, which according to President Ali is “…a centralised one-stop digital platform available via website, Android and iPhone apps, and will bring together all government services in one simple digital window with just a few clicks, citizens will be able to apply for passports, birth certificates, drivers, license and ID (Identification) cards, access health and education records, file taxes and businesses can have the registration done online.”

While some of these services are already available, like the Single Window System at the Housing and Water Ministry, President Ali said that such services will be further extended to other ministries and State agencies like the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).

Another feature is the ‘Ask Gov’ portal, which can be used to gather reliable and accurate information about government services and programmes in various areas such as education, healthcare and security.

“The Ask Government is your AI assistant. Ask Gov will be Guyana’s official AI assistant for government services. Ask Gov will be available 24/7 to answer citizens’ questions and help complete tasks like renewing a license, checking your application status or requesting documents. Powered by agentic AI, Ask Gov can answer all government queries and solve problems without human intervention.”

However, with all these new technological initiatives that will bring a first-world service delivery model here, the Guyanese Leader emphasised that data protection would be given top priority. In fact, he noted that they will be investing in Guyana’s first sovereign AI cloud.

“We have to have sovereignty over our data and information, and we’ll be investing our sovereign AI cloud to store our data, to improve lives, greater accessibility and reduce the cost of transactions. We’re building Guyana’s first sovereign AI cloud, which will help hold Guyana’s data within our borders, keep our data secure.”

“This digital foundation will enable cutting-edge tools such as ‘big data’ to identify trends and support informed decisions in health, education and security, generative AI to create reports, curriculum guides and assist with chat support…protecting your personal information is a top priority for the People’s Progressive Party/Civic. On the Digital Guyana, we adopt global best practices in data and encryption and secure cloud hosting, ensuring that AI is used responsibly and transparently. This will help us to build stronger, safer communities through smart technologies,” he asserted.