The digitization of public service processes is an effort by the Vanuatu government to foster a digital service ecosystem. This effort is highlighted in a series of blogs, with the first, proposing the digitization of the police clearance certification process in the country and the impacts it could potentially have on Ni-Vanuatu people especially departing seasonal workers.

Living in the Torba group of islands in Vanutau, Andrew, a 34-year-old husband and father of three, earns US$10 to US$15 as a daily wage worker. Wanting to provide a better life for his family, Andrew explores the opportunity of overseas seasonal work in New Zealand where he could earn more. After several attempts, he was finally granted a placement for three months to work under the New Zealand Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) programme.

His placement was only the start of what would become a long and rewarding administrative journey. The first leg of the journey involved a twenty-hour trip on two boats, one plane and a few local buses to Port Vila where he began the process of submitting an application for a Police Clearance Certificate (PCC). Once there, Andrew collected a form from the Police Head Quarters, made a payment at the Ministry of Finance, then ended the day back at the Police HQ to finally submit his application. He stayed with some relatives in the city while waiting two days for his application to be fast-processed. Though this helped him save on accommodation, he incurred a total travel cost of US$620, an application fee of US$35 and more on food and incidental expenses. Once processed, Andew returned to the Police HQ to pick up his certification and made the twenty-hour return journey home.

Andrew is just one of 7,000[1] Ni-Vanuatu people who go through this every year. For some, even after this logistically arduous process, there is still no guarantee they will receive their PCC on time. The Vanuatu Police Force manually processes 15,000 certificates each year - approximately eight an hour – and there understandable delays at times.

The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is working with the country’s police, the Department of Finance and Treasury (DoFT), the Office of Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) and the Reserve Bank of Vanuatu (RBV) to use digital technologies to make the pre-departure experience of seasonal migrant workers smooth, easy and affordable. This is part of UNCDF’s ongoing support to the Vanuatu government as it embarks on a digital transformation journey. Under the partnership, a new electronic system, known as e-PCC 1.0, is being developed that will reduce the average cost of the procurement journey from US$620 to less than US$50, and the processing time to one day for all applicants. Perhaps most importantly, the new technology will make it possible for people to get the PCC without going to an office. All applications would be submitted electronically online, with payments made directly to the Ministry of Finance through digital channels such as mobile wallets and bank transfers.

After hearing far too many stories from departing migrant workers, we wanted to identify the problem in the current system. This immediately became obvious - inefficiency. Processing an application involves seven stages and up to six government departments. The entire process is primarily manual, where, like Andrew, applicants are required to travel to Port Vila and make multiple visits to different offices before even applying. The standard process takes one week and when fast-tracked with technological intervention, two days. Not only did this make it unnecessarily time consuming, but was also costly for both applicants and VPF.

Applicants spend three days and US$ 620 to get the PCC. The costs can shoot up to US$1000 and one week of travel time for residents coming from outer islands, such as Banks and Torres.

Brainstorming a solution
We brainstormed several ideas, some more ambitious than others. We looked at lobbying to remove the requirement of PCC from the visa-issuance process to de-centralising the PCC issuance to the local police station. In principle, both these (and several other) ideas would solve the problem but neither were feasible nor desirable by the users. PCC is a standard requirement under both Australian and New Zealand immigration policies. A change in that policy would be beyond the control of Vanuatu authorities. The decentralised PCC process seemed more doable at first, but the practical challenge of workers’ movement across the country and the long process to get the policy and the budget approved from the Cabinet might take years.

After many rounds of brainstorming, we landed on the idea to offer an electronic PCC through a simple web-based application. This would solve the problem for a large number of applicants. The concept dubbed, as e-PCC 1.0, was first piloted with applicants, who liked the idea of getting the certificate without traveling to Port Vila. Similarly, the Police and the Ministry of Finance welcomed the move to a more efficient digital system.

e-PCC 1.0 offers a digital user interface to apply, pay, and receive an electronic PCC. The proposed first-generation, V.1.0, will be available on any smartphone or computer and will allow the users to pay using mobile wallets, such as ISiMobile and M-Vatu.

The e-PCC 1.0 is more than just taking the original process digital. It eases the financial and psychological burden for thousands of Vanuatu citizens, saving them from taking the arduous journey. It also marks significant progress toward creating a digital services ecosystem in Vanuatu. For instance, it would offer new use cases for digital payments while bringing more people under the formal financial system. The deep integration under the planned version 2.0 will enable a real-time connection to the National ID database under the Civil Registry. The instant remote identity verification through e-KYC-based authentication will accelerate digital financial inclusion. Furthermore, it provides a tangible output to the government to start bringing its services much closer to the public, significantly benefitting those living in outer islands. The service will benefit 7,000 Vanuatu workers, helping them save costs and time. It has the potential for broader national and regional impact. Within Vanuatu, those using digital payment methods would benefit from all banking services. Other departments would be able to learn from this project and, hopefully, start using digital technologies. Through its regional programme UNCDF, would be able to share its experiences with other governments in the Pacific.

Currently, we are working to set up the necessary policy environment while testing the concept. Covid-19 has presented some challenges in moving faster; however, we hope to launch the service in the second half of 2021.

[1] About 7,000 workers, from Vanuatu, participate in the RSE and LMS scheme every year.

Read full feasibility study and solution design report here