Thus far, $13.7 billion has been spent on government’s floundering Information Communica-tions Technology (ICT) programme including the troubled fibre-optic cable project with little to show for it, former Auditor-General Anand Goolsarran says.
“It is clear that the funds earmarked for the government’s ICT programme have been fully exhausted. However, the main objective of advancing “fully into e-government mode, hooking up our schools and our police stations and everything else so that we can deploy technology in the service of our people,” as stated by the former President (Bharrat Jagdeo), is far from its realization and remains a dream unfulfilled,” Goolsarran wrote in his Stabroek News column which appears today.
“Those responsible for decisions relating to the execution of the project as well as for monitoring it have failed us immensely. They have left us not only without any meaningful tangible assets for the expenditure incurred but also a huge debt burden that future generations will have to repay,” he declared while adding that many of those responsible may not be