Auditor General outlines problems with electronic vehicle registration system

An information technology audit of the Barbados Licensing Authority has concluded that the planned Electronic Vehicle Registration System (EVR) was behind schedule and over budget by millions of dollars.

The Auditor General also found concerns related to the feasibility of the project, project management, the absence of requisite legislation and issues with the EVR application.

The findings of the audit are detailed in the 2024 Auditor General Report which was laid in Parliament on Tuesday.

“The budget for the [EVR] project has been steadily increasing. Based on the status reports provided by [Ministry of Transport and Works between March 2020 and December 2023, the budget for the project increased from $5 805 596 to $9 200 005, an increase of $3 394 409,” the report shared.

“The budget increased for three reasons which were changes in project scope, an underestimated original budget and project delays.

The report, which is the last completed by Auditor General Leigh Trotman before he retired on April 3, included an examination of the Electronic Vehicle Registration System (EVR) and the Vehicle Registration System (VRS).

The EVR, the report noted, was introduced to identify road users contravening the road traffic legislation and regulations, including if their vehicles are licensed and/or insured. It would also identify motorists breaking the speed limit.

The main function of the VRS was to facilitate the registration and management of information on vehicles.

Agreement

The Auditor General’s report said that on February 13, 2020 “the decision was taken by the Tenders Committee . . . that a company was selected to implement the EVR system and the agreement with this company was signed on 20th March, 2020”.

“The agreed cost of the project was $5 805 596 and a subsequent software maintenance fee of $506 566 was to be paid in the first year after completion with $324 591 to be paid annually thereafter. The projected time for completion of the EVR software and infrastructure was November 2020,” the report states. “Subsequently, an addendum to the original contract was signed on 13th January, 2021, to include additional system functionality that would facilitate vehicle registration and inspection, and revenue collection. These functions existed in the legacy BLA application.”

The report explained that the software facilitating this additional functionality was referred to as the VRS system “and the projected cost was $1 581 132. with a maintenance fee of $238 049. annually until 2023, whereupon it would increase annually”.

Noting that both the EVR and VRS were cloud-based applications, the information technology audit found

several concerns with the project, including that a 2012 report on the viability of the EVR project was “dated” by the time it went to tendering in 2020.

The Auditor General said a more recent study was necessary to consider changes including “the prevalence of cloud technologies, proliferation of fibre-based communication, changes in traffic patterns and the removal of road tax for the majority of road users”.

“There was no evidence provided that the impact of these factors on the feasibility of the project was evaluated,” the report added.

The audit found that “the timeline set for project completion and the initial costs budgeted were both exceeded”.

Factors

“This was due to a number of factors which included . . . certain infrastructural work was incomplete as at February 2024; modifications and scope changes to the software were required; development of the VRS was halted; and late payments were made to the supplier which cause delays to the project,” the report said.

The Auditor General’s overall conclusion included that by March 2024 the EVR project had not achieved its objective of improving efficiency and modernising the operations of the Authority, thereby enhancing the services offered to the public.

The report also said “changes in the project scope including modifications to system requirements and the lack of effective project management contributed to both time and budget overruns”. “Any future efforts to consolidate the solutions should therefore ensure that all business requirements are taken into consideration,” the Auditor General recommended.

“Failure to do so could result in resource wastage and a missed opportunity to efficiently provide the benefits which the projects were undertaken to garner.”

In its response to the information technology audit of the BLA, the Ministry of Transport and Works’ said it “has reviewed the report and generally has no objections”.

“The Ministry notes the concern and observations contained in the report and will implement measures to address the matters raised therein,” it stated.

“To mitigate the challenges which are encountered in the implementation of the EVR Project, the Ministry is seeking to have a dedicated [information technology] team to effectively minimise the hardware and software systems. Additionally, priority will be placed on data storage and security.” (SC)

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