1 month ago
20
The Vital Statistics Unit’s new civil registry website was officially launched this morning, marking a major milestone in Belize’s ongoing push to digitize essential government services and improve public access to vital records. The Vital Statistics Unit, which falls under the Ministry of the Attorney General, serves a population of nearly 400,000 and is the country’s sole authority responsible for the civil registry, including the issuance of birth, death, marriage, and adoption records, along with other identification documents. In recent years, the unit had struggled with system failures, inefficiencies, limited integration with partner agencies, and lengthy processing times that affected accessibility and public confidence. Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of E-Governance, José Urbina, provided details on the services now available to the public through the online portal.
Jose Urbina, CEO, Ministry of E Governance: “We’re looking at all the services that this vital statistics unit offer. The CRVS has been fully updated with all life events. So you can do birth registrations, death registrations. You can also do marriage registrations and also depoll which is changing of names. We ensure that for the lunch, for today, even though it has taken quite some time to get here today, we ensure that all life events and all services that the vital statistics unit offer are present online for ease of access. One of the biggest driving forces behind any digitization project, especially projects that deal with citizen information, need to align with legislations we have in country. So legislation such as the Data Protection Act that speaks of data privacy and who can access your data. Also it aligns with the Public Sector Data Sharing Act. So even from the public sector, who can access your data and what data can they really access? If you note in the presentation, for you to be able to apply for one of the services you need to register, which means that you need to enter a username, you need to enter a password, and also you have a two-factor authentication method that you get a message on your device or email and you need to enter that code for you to be able to log on. So the system is fully protected. To answer your question directly the answer is no. No other person other than yourself with the credentials can login and access your information.”
At the official launch, Prime Minister John Briceño spoke on how far his administration has brought Belize in the modernization and digitization of public services. He noted that the rollout of the new civil registry platform represents a key achievement in building a more efficient, citizen-centered government capable of meeting modern demands while improving service delivery nationwide.
John Briceño, Prime Minister of Belize: “As I look, see people looking at their devices, their phones, many people don’t realize that you have more power in this phone than what you had when the astronauts were going Apollo 8, 9, 10, 12, 13 going to the moon. We have more computing power here than what we had in those rockets to get up there. To show you how the world has transformed that you literally have it in your hands. And we came to realize that first, to be able to take Belize to the next level, we have to be able to catch up with the rest of the world. We started to think about how is it? And that’s when he said, we don’t have to duplicate because for too long in the ministries we have a lot of duplications and spending probably hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions of dollars in where everybody wants to do their own website, everybody wants to do their own machines, everybody wants to do their own thing when it does not have to be that way. We have to find how we could synchronize the different systems that we have and how we could be able to have that all these ministries can be able to talk with one another and how we could provide services to our customers which is the Belizean people in the most easiest way possible. For too long you hear these stories that people have to come all the way to Belize, especially for instance when you come from down south it takes you several hours to come by bus. And that by the time you get here at the Vital Stats, it was at Queen Street at that time, you have people from Belize City that made a business of getting your birth certificate. So they would go there in line from five o’clock in the morning. So when you get there you can’t get a ticket to be able to access the service. And so these people are online and then you pay them and then they apply for you. You have to go back to the Toledo District and in some instances they make mistakes on your application, you don’t know about it. You come back a month later, just to find out that you still need more information. And so this back and forth it just made it impossible for our citizens and we felt that the first step towards digitization and providing services for a citizen has to be the Vital Statistical Unit. And it was important for us that we could make it as easy as possible and for the citizens to be able to have it for as long as possible that birth certificate. And so we said it’s not only going to be on paper but it’s also going to be digital. So you could keep it on your phone, keep it on your laptop, you could put it on cloud. You could have it everywhere. And so I see today from the presentation that we’ve managed to meet all of the expectations and all the demands that we are making from the people there at the Vital Stats Unit.”
Attorney General Anthony Sylvestre, whose ministry oversees the Vital Statistics Unit, underscored the importance of the platform in strengthening transparency, accountability, and efficient record management. He pointed to the comprehensive reform effort behind the launch, which included an organizational review and restructuring strategy, recruitment of additional staff, optimized operating processes, and the development of a national digital transformation roadmap for the unit.
Anthony Sylvestre, Attorney General: “For decades, obtaining a mirth certificate, a marriage certificate, or other vital documents, operated in almost an outdated way. In particular it required individuals to appear in person at our offices, and these procedures as she had outlined, they were entirely paper-based. They often result in extensive lines, delays, and unavoidable inconvenience. This launch demonstrates what can be achieved through shared effort, clear purpose, and a collective commitment to a national progress. As we move forward, the Vital Statistics Unit remains steadfast in its dedication to continuous improvement and to ensuring that this new system fulfills a promise of convenience, reliability, and accessibility for every Belizean.”
The public can now access the online system at www.crvs.gov.bz.
English (US) ·