Pictured above HON IAN GOODING-
EDGHILL, MINISTER OF TRANSPORT WORKS AND WATER
RESOURCES pointing to a just printed License coming out one of special printers with some of the special security features. To his right is Hon. Charles McD. Griffith, M.P. Minister in the Ministry of Water Resources.
MEDIA BRIEFING ON THE STATUS OF THE ISSUANCE OF
BARBADOS’ DRIVERS’ LICENSE AND IMPROVEMENTS AT THE
BARBADOS LICENSING AUTHORITY BY HON IAN GOODING-
EDGHILL, MINISTER OF TRANSPORT WORKS AND WATER
RESOURCES ON OCTOBER 16, 2021.
Good morning members of the media.
I am pleased to provide you with an update on the status of Barbados Drivers’ Licenses. Since July 2020, the Barbados Licensing Authority had been faced with the difficulty of maintaining sufficient inventory levels of plastic cards used to produce the Barbados Drivers License. Administrative and supply challenges globally contributed to the delay in the delivery of these cards. These cards are specially designed and manufactured in the United States for Barbados and imbedded with security features to reduce counterfeit and fraud which could compromise Barbados’ good reputation abroad.
I am pleased to announce that the order of 100,000 cards and the specially manufactured laminate have been received by the BLA, and the BLA has begun the printing and distribution of the backlog of the cards. Just over
10,000 cards have been printed. The BLA has started the process of coordinating the delivery of the licenses to the public through the General Post Office Courier service.
We are using our special printers but because of the special security features, it will still take time for them be printed. The exercise, to clear the back log of over 83 thousand cards which consist of 9,646 for customers who renewed their licenses online and 74,227 who would
have otherwise collected their licenses from the BLA offices.
The BLA team anticipates that the project addressing the backlog should completed no later November 15, 2021 and thereafter normal distribution at the offices will resume.
Teams of seven working in two shifts Monday to Friday, 8.30 am to 4 pm and 5pm to 12am, and one shift on Saturdays from 9am to 2.30 pm, have been put in place and have already begun the process of printing, sorting
and packaging the cards. If necessary, a third shift will be added. Every morning at 9am I meet and receive a briefing from the BLA team which includes the number of cards printed and mailed on the previous day. I will
continue to meet with the team daily until this project is completed.
All cards will be processed and mailed to each customer through the General Post Office courier service. The new cards must be signed for and the expired license returned to the courier. It must be noted that no new
photographs for regular renewals will be necessary.
photographs for regular renewals will be necessary.
I must also inform you that no licenses will issued face to face at any of the BLA offices during the next weeks as the BLA will be focusing on mass production to wipe out the backlog and to avoid compromising any Covid-19 protocols. It is critical that all addresses be update to facilitate ease of delivery.
On November 1, 2021, the BLA will resume the delivery of driver licenses paid for online through the courier service. The online renewal service was suspended due to the absence of plastic cards.
On November 15, 2021, the BLA will also recommence the issuance of driver licenses from the BLA offices at Oistins and Holetown.
With effect from November 15, 2021, the BLA will go back to the system of taking photographs when learners pass their driving test and for persons transferring form overseas to Barbados driver licenses. These new cards
will also be mailed to customers.
Effective Wednesday, October 20, 2021, the BLA will address the backlog of photographs for the first time driver who paid for their license but were unable to get the plastic drivers license card along with those who paid
for transfers from their overseas license to the Barbados license.
A schedule listing the dates for persons who paid in specified months will be published on social media, MTWW facebook page, Barbados Government Information Service and other social media platforms.
For example, those first time drivers and transfers who paid for their license in July, 2020 will be asked to visit the BLA headquarters at the Pine on Wednesday, October 20, 2021 for their photos to be taken between 5
– 8 pm.
My Ministry is mindful of persons who require their driver license for urgent travel. A special email address will be setup and manned by a dedicated officer at the BLA whose job it will be to process such requests.
However, one must be cautioned that if you have already paid for a license and then make a request for a license to travel, the license may have already been packaged for delivery. Please note it may take approximately 5
days to expedite and track the status of the mail delivery.
Persons can email the BLA at blatravelrequest@barbados.gov.bb to make a request.
Verification of travel plans will be necessary.
To avoid a recurrence of what happened and to ensure it never happens again, I have taken a policy decision to ensure adequate inventory levels of plastic cards are maintained at the BLA. That policy decision was clearly
communicated to the chief licensing officer, Mr. Virgil Knight. I am advised that an order to replenish the inventory levels will be placed next week.
I wish to thank the team responsible for the Plastic Card Section, ably led by the competent Control Officer, Ms. Solange Niles and the staff under her direction for an outstanding job in working beyond her scheduled time to
complete this special project. Ms Niles I am grateful for your yeoman service.
I also want to thank the customers for their patience. I know it has been long overdue but I have spared no resource in ensuring the removal of the backlog and to assure you of my intention that this must not happened
again. The experience I have drawn from the private sector has allowed me to take decisive action to resolve these challenges. This is another challenge I have had to fix.
The Ministry is also reviewing the processes at the BLA
for improved customer satisfaction.
The Ministry of Transport Works and Water Resources
will be implementing and launching a comprehensive
series of initiatives that will vastly improve the standard
of service Barbadians get from and at the Barbados
Licensing Authority.
So far-reaching and numerous are these set of upgrades, that the Ministry is confident that the public will regard them as a “public service revolution.” Furthermore, the Ministry sees this series of upgrades as only the beginning of an ongoing set of steps to make life much better for the different publics that we serve.
The goal of the Ministry is to make engagement with us, and especially the Licensing Authority, free of stress and a comfortable experience to which they can calmly experience as a normal part of life.
This will start the process of eradicating the negative perception far too long publicly associated with the Licensing Authority.
You will note that we have already provided tents at the BLA to improve customer comfort. We are moving ahead to improve online services to reduce the physical traffic to the BLA offices.
I would like to take this opportunity to advise you of
some these coming improvements.
We have already received the cabinet’s approval to vary the age for which a medical certificate is required from 70 to 75 years. In addition, the renewal period for ages 75 to 85 will be moved to two years with a medical
certificate being required for every two years and at the age of 85 the renewal period would be one year with an annual medical certificate.
In effect, we are removing the age discrimination barrier.
These changes will be effected when the Road Traffic Act is amended.
Another breakthrough initiative is the outsourcing of the inspection of new and used vehicles other that first time new commercial vehicles.
Authorised garages will now be approved to undertake inspections as we move to improve customer service and efficiency. Therefore the BLA will no longer be the sole entity responsible for inspecting and issuing road worthy
certificates. This will come into place as soon as the requisite amendments to the Road Traffic Act are completed.
I have also reviewed critical service improvement steps needed at the BLA with the Ministry’s team. The Ministry has proposed and the Cabinet has approved a process to simplify the process needed to obtain a Barbados drivers license.
Customers will be allowed to complete and pass the regulation test and schedule an appointment online for their driving test. The learner will have the option to pay for the Learners permit and the driving test fee in full or
separately and when the learner passes the driving test he or she can pay for the requisite years be it 1, 3 or 5 years.
Barbadians will also shortly have the opportunity to pay for their driver license renewal for up to 10 years when a further amendment to the Road Traffic Act is facilitated. Full details of these changes will be communicated in the near future.
The BLA continues to advise all Barbadians travelling abroad to obtain an international driving permit from the Barbados Revenue Authority.
There are the United Nations treaties: The Geneva Convention Road Traffic 1949 and the Vienna Convention Road Traffic 1968 which allows persons holding international driving permits to drive within their jurisdiction.
Although rental car companies overseas will not ask for an international driving permit, it is highly advisable to ensure you travel with the international driving permit.
I will ask the CLO to address this issue during this
morning’s media briefing.
Thank you.
The vast amount of work being done in order to process the large back log of Driving Licenses along with new ones to be processed…. Pictures by David Crichlow ( CARIBPIX )
Every single License have to be checked first. 
