Social Security Ministry goes digital with new $254M system

The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, with the official launch of its new Management Information System called the Beneficiary Registry and Document Management System (BRDMS), has implemented a fully digitised system to manage its key databases.

The platform, which was funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) at a cost of US$1,221,151, was developed by Synergy International Systems Inc.

The state-of-the-art software represents a major leap forward in efficiency and accessibility, revolutionising how the Ministry delivers its services to the citizens of Guyana.

These services may include senior citizens’ pensions, public assistance, and permanent disability.

Speaking at the launch held at the Ministry’s Head Office on Tuesday, Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, emphasised the importance of the Ministry using modern technology to help shape programmes and policies that improve its operations.

“𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐈𝐂𝐓, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐝 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧,” the Minister explained.

The BRDMS aims to digitise 50 social services, transforming the entire Ministry’s operations from a mostly manual, paper-based setup to a fully digital platform.

It guarantees accountability, transparency, efficiency and efficacy.

Once it took shape, it aimed to create a digital framework that makes information easily accessible to everyone who needs it, all users and eventually beneficiaries.

To support this, over 300 computers and more than 50 printers were distributed across the regions, ensuring local offices were properly equipped to participate in the digital transition.

Additionally, the Minister also revealed that the Ministry is working to have an offline application process.

“𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐭 𝐆𝐮𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐚’𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧, 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞,” Minister Persaud revealed.

Furthermore, the system allows users to move from 21 to 800. This means that all applications can be processed simultaneously on the platform, marking a major improvement in capacity and efficiency.

It can also track the process of applications. What took hours and weeks can be achieved in minutes and involves the migration of data for over 130,000 beneficiaries.

The BRDMS enhances not just speed but also tracking. It prevents delays, ensures proper monitoring and evaluation, and strengthens policies by providing clear data on who needs support and how individuals can access multiple services.

Moreover, Minister Persaud disclosed that the software will soon include persons who benefit from other social services that are offered by the Ministry.

She said, “𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐈𝐈𝐍 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐬.”

The initiative began in 2020 as a strong partnership with the IDB, aimed at supporting vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic. It later evolved into a broader effort to modernise outdated systems and transition the Ministry into the digital age.

The partnership with both IDB and Synergy was a global, round-the-clock effort that involved studying other systems to build a stronger one. As a result, Guyana now stands as a national and regional reference point in digital transformation, leading the way in the Caribbean and Latin America.