-CANTO meeting told
Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh said incorporating technology in economic development is necessary for its advancement, in his address at the 26th AGM of the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunications Organisa-tions (CANTO) held last month.
Singh noted that technological development is increasingly impacting the economic and social development of every country, particularly smaller countries with emerging economies which are challenged to keep up with, and implement technological change in order to ensure that they are not left behind. The Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted Singh as saying that such technologies are increasingly recognised to be critical to boosting quality of life, productivity and efficiency in both the public and private sectors, and providing a competitive advantage in every sector of activity.
The minister also noted that the prevailing global economic crisis which continues to affect the Caribbean through so many direct channels has highlighted the importance of diversifying economies to make them more resilient to the vagaries of the global economic system. Singh also pointed out that the Caribbean has a long tradition of being producers of high quality intellectual capital, valuable the world over. He said the use of modern technology in the education systems and in the productive operations will be critical to ensure that countries are not left behind.
“Cutting-edge technology must be harnessed and mobilized to promote development in our economies and improvement in our people’s lives,” Singh said. Much of the success in this sphere of activity rests not only in individual efforts at the national governmental level but also in partnerships at the regional governmental level by pooling strengths, sharing concerns and cooperating to move ahead along the path of economic and social advancement through the effective deployment of new and emerging technologies.
The minister said most countries have sought to enhance the opportunity for deployment of new and emerging technologies through liberalization of their traditional sectors and through the enactment of appropriate licensing and regulatory regimes.
Noting that Guyana is no exception in this regard, Singh said that government recognizes the major players in the country and the drive to grow and deploy new technologies in many ways consistent with national developmental objectives. He also applauded GT&T for hosting the event and pointed out that government is still a significant shareholder in the company.
As regards committees on relevant and topical matters that include “Regulations and Emerging Technologies” and “Disaster Preparedness” the minister pointed out that the existence of such committees and the discussions at the forum, reflect important recognition of some of the main challenges before the Region. He said too that the reality is that the there is continual technological change which countries must adapt in order to develop economies and boost livelihoods. Reflecting on the situation in Haiti, the minister said, “Even as our hearts go out to our sisters and brothers… the current devastation in that sister Caribbean country provides us with important lessons about our preparedness, or lack thereof, at both Regional and individual country level, to cope with disasters of any significant scale.”
As regards technological progress, he said the advances in technology are constantly occurring at an astounding rate and these transformations are so rapid that very little remains the same from year to year. Singh noted that government recognises that the telecommunications and ICT sectors will develop even more dramatically in a fully liberalized, open, competitive market where fair competition prevails. “To achieve this end, even as we discuss full liberalization with the incumbent in Guyana, we must prepare and put in place the appropriate legislative and regulatory framework to encourage market growth,” the minister said.
He said Guyana is “well on the way” to completing the preparation of the appropriate framework that includes new legislation on licensing, interconnect and access, pricing, spectrum management, consumer protection, universal access and competitive safeguards. In this regard, legislation is being prepared to regulate electronic transactions and to facilitate such transactions through the legal recognition of electronic signatures and of contracts entered into electronically and to provide the legal basis for electronic payments while providing for data protection. These measures are related to the implementation of Guyana’s 2006 National ICT4D Strategy, which was crafted by a collaborative effort among stakeholders in the ICT sector and other traditional sectors in Guyana as well as professional and consumer groups and the government.
GINA said other significant efforts to advance and modernize Guyanese society and the economy through the deployment and use of technology include the implementation of major projects to facilitate and enable a system of e-government, the principal objective being to provide for greater efficiency in the delivery of government services, greater ease and convenience and lower costs for the population in doing business with the government. One of these projects involves the creation of a “fibre optic backbone” from Georgetown through Linden to Lethem and onto Guyana’s border with Brazil, a distance of 520km. “This network will link into a coastal network to create a more expanded e-Government Network,” GINA said.
The release said too that several top executive telecommunication operators and suppliers from 31 countries attended the two-day AGM. The meeting included a Mobile Content and Value-Added Services workshop which was facilitated by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation.