The breakdown of the Barbados Licensing Authority’s (BLA) vehicle registration system has stretched into several days, with technicians still searching for a permanent fix.
The malfunction knocked the BLA’s registration and inspection platforms offline earlier this week, affecting nearly all transactions, including the agency’s online services.
For some drivers needing inspections and renewals or certificates, the situation has meant wasted trips and parked vehicles.
“I went there twice this week – Wednesday and yesterday [Thursday] – and both times they just told me the system is down,” said one customer yesterday. “I was trying to pay for a roadworthy certificate and a weight certificate for my vehicle, but they couldn’t process anything. Until that system is back up, the vehicle cannot be used.”
Chief Licensing Officer Treca McCarthy-Broomes told the Saturday Sun yesterday that her team and information technology (IT) specialists from the Ministry of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology had been “working feverishly” to isolate and fix the fault.
“The Barbados Licensing Authority is working in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology to fix the problem as quickly as possible,” she said. “We understand the inconvenience to our customers and give you the assurance that this matter is being given utmost priority.”
McCarthy-Broomes said the authority would be “working around the clock and through this weekend” in hopes of restoring service by next week, but could not give a firm timeline.
She noted that because the customer database was backed up daily, the authority expected a smoother return to full operations once the issue was resolved.
“We are also in the process of hiring additional IT specialists to augment our technical resources on a daily basis,” she added. “This will help us ensure a more robust and resilient platform going forward.”
McCarthy-Broomes said the service disruption had reinforced the agency’s commitment to long-term improvements, including more testing officers and system upgrades.
“It will not be business as usual at the BLA,” she stressed. “The public requires and deserves greater ease of doing business.”
She issued a “profuse apology” to customers for the inconvenience and thanked the ministry for their support during the technical crisis.
Minister of Innovation, Industry, Science and Technology Senator Jonathan Reid dismissed speculation that the disruption was the result of a cyberattack.
‘Not a hack’
“No, the issue isn’t a hack,” Reid said yesterday. “Some Government ministries and agencies currently manage their own IT infrastructure – one of them is the BLA. There was a failure in a component of their infrastructure that resulted in the registration system being down.”
He said the ministry was collaborating closely with the Licensing Authority to implement a short-term workaround and then a long-term fix involving the replacement of malfunctioning equipment.
Meanwhile, motorists continue to express frustration with the shutdown, especially those who rely on their vehicles for work.
“It’s just that nobody seems to know when it will be fixed,” said another customer who tried to complete his transaction. “They just keep saying the system is down.”
He explained that a roadworthy certificate and a weight certificate were two important documents required for licensing a private vehicle.
“You need those for every private vehicle,” he said. “And if your vehicle has a bit of age on it, you must have a roadworthy certificate.”
He noted that the process had changed in recent years.
“It’s not like before when you could go to a regular garage and get a roadworthy certificate there,” he explained. “Now, everything has to be done at the Pine.” (NS)
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