OLPF Programme slowed in 2012

Dec 18, 2012 News

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The One Laptop Per Family Programme (OLPF) slowed significantly in 2012, because it had become a victim of the budget cuts. But other ways were found to procure more computers and accelerate the distribution drive of the computers to the applicants.
Minister of Agriculture, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, while distribution of over 60 laptops at the studios of the National Communications Network Inc (NCN) in Berbice on Sunday, said that the programme is being accelerated again.
The government has found ways to cross the budget cuts hurdle, he said.
Some $18.3B was cut from the 2012 budget by the combined opposition. One of the items on the list was the OLPF Programme.
Prior to the disbursement of the LCDS Fund, the GOG had advanced the money for the programme.  “We had bought a set of computers which we distributed last year and we were hoping that once we got back the money from LCDS, we would then procure a larger amount for distribution”.
He stated that the government had to go and “find ways of doing the programme.”
“As government, we depend for support on the parliament…and when they vote against such a thing, they vote against good programmes and people getting benefits. But we had said when the budget was cut, that we’d find a way to make it happen, and we did. This programme is back and is being accelerated.”
“You would have noticed that last year we were going fast—virtually every day we were distributing 100, 50, 100, 150 computers in villages…and then we became a little slow for this year—2012 has been slower than 2011”.
But he stated that the budget cuts did not cripple the OLPF Programme because the government found other ways to procure the computers “which we, today are distributing. In fact, in the 2013 budget, we are hoping that everything goes right and we will have an acceleration.”
The Minister added that other partners and donors, the Government of China for instance, has come on board and has offered to donate computers towards the project “and other private partners who are contributing to the programme”.
Dr Ramsammy, when asked about the possibility of the combined opposition slicing more money from the programme in the 2013 budget, stated that “well, you never know…all these programmes are for the entire country, not for the PPP supporters, rather for every family and there are certain things we should not make a
political football.”
He noted that when certain developmental programmes are threatened, “you are threatening the livelihood of everyone, whatever ethnicity, religion and so on and we should not play with the lives of ordinary people.”
“It was wrong to block programmes like the OLPF, and solar panels for hinterland families”, he noted. He is hoping common sense would prevail “and don’t take our wards to a level where people are affected and if we want to have a war, it is okay but let us find things that don’t hurt people”.
He stated that the government is trying its utmost to ensure that every nursery, primary and secondary school has computers. He said, though, that this process will take time but it will become a reality, “and one day soon, every child will have access to computers in schools.”
Dr Ramsammy stated that it is also the intention of the government for families to access the computers, “and to bring equity to people whereby not only rich people have access”.
The PPP/C government, he added, designed the programme for 90,000 persons “and if you take an average of four persons in a home, it means almost 400,000 people would benefit directly from the OLPF programme”.
Also, he addressed the concerns about the long wait being experienced by some applicants “because we don’t have all of it to give at the same time…we have to—it’s hundreds of millions of dollars.” Ramsammy also addressed what he termed ‘rumours’ about persons having to pay for the laptops, or do laborious work after they would have received the instruments. He debunked those claims.
He stated that when the programme was first started, budget funds were used “because we were going to do this programme on the Low Carbon Development Strategy and we are getting some money for a service that Guyana provides…for us preserving the forests, we help the world absorb the carbons from the air and we are selling that service so Norway is paying us and one of the sources of the money of this programme comes from LCDS.”
He thanked Member of Parliament, Faizal M. Jaffarally who is playing a crucial role in the OLPF Programme in the Berbice area.
So far in 2012, some 3,000 laptops were distributed to Berbicians. This week, more than 175 instruments will be distributed across various hubs in Berbice, Dr Ramsammy revealed. Black Bush, Manchester, Port Mourant, Liverpool, New Amsterdam, and Albion have recently seen laptop distribution.

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