E-Governance cable project has many unanswered questions

Oct 30, 2015 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Does Guyana have the intellectual capital to plan, build and operate both a Core Digital Backbone and a Modern Data Center?
Last Sunday (10/25) I was reading an article in Stabroek News about the E-Government/Fiber Optic Cable project that is now renamed “Government Data Center (GOVNET)”.  I am not sure if the newspaper got this correct, but the name seems to imply that this is a combined Data Center and Network Project.  I don’t know of any organization that would combine a Data Center Project with a Wide Area Broadband Network project, and have it managed by a single Project Manager (PM), especially, a project with a $20+ million (US) price tag.
One of the things I find strange about this project, that started in 2011, or thereabout, is the absence of any Technology Executives such as a Chief Information Officer (CIO), and a Chief Technology Officer (CTO), who usually have ultimate responsibility and accountability for the success of these types of large-scale, complex projects.  Every time I read about the E-Government project, the only one mentioned is the PM.  So I am guessing that these Technology Executives don’t exist, and the PM is performing these high-level roles, something I have never seen.  Also missing is an Advisory Group with a mix of high level government officials and Senior Technical Experts to provide oversight, guidance, and to help with escalations of high importance, and of high criticality.
The Technology Executives ensure that there is a rigorous and disciplined process in place to perform the due diligence to assure that the projects are feasible, affordable, that the cost/benefits are clearly articulated, the scope of the projects are clearly defined, and there is a robust process in place to manage the high probability/high impact risks.  There are a lot more they are accountable for that are too numerous to list here, e.g. development of RFIs, RFPs, selection of System Integrators Technology Vendors, and Technology stack/platforms, contract negotiations, budgets/finances, etc.
I don’t know how much money has already been spent on the E-Government Project.  I have seen figures ranging from $ 23 million to $ 100 million (US).  If the Guyana Government is serious about getting IT right, then it needs to find the right Technology Executives to lead these strategic projects with these large price tags. They will not be easy to find, and will be expensive, but not nearly as expensive as throwing away millions of (US) dollars on ill-conceived, and poorly managed projects.
In the IT world, making the wrong choices, and poor decisions lead to spectacular failures.  Case in point is the U.S GOV Health Care Web site that ended up costing close a $ 1 billion (US), and if you add the failures of the State WEB sites e.g. Oregon and Maryland, and others, the total cost is up to $ 5 billion (US).  Recently, there was another project for the U.S. Air Force with a $ 1 billion (US) price tag that went bust.  If the developed countries are faced with this dilemma, I wonder how well the developing countries are faring. I did not write this to disparage anyone’s credentials, or criticize the government’s handling of these projects, but to merely offer some cogent observations, and suggestions that hopefully the government will embrace, and do a better job to make these projects successful, so that they will move Guyana into the digital age, and benefit all Guyanese.
I have fond memories of growing up in Guyana, it was one of the best times in my life, and as I wind down my career in North America, I hope to give something back. I left Guyana with a first class education (8 O’levels and 3 A levels) that served as the solid foundation for a highly successful and rewarding professional career in North America. As I look back, I have had some very diverse and interesting career choices in a variety of industries, starting in Engineering and moving to IT, and I owe it all to the high quality education I first received in Guyana.
My professional obligations and commitments take up most of my time. It is very challenging to work in the fast-paced, very fast changing IT Industry. It takes a lot of time to stay abreast of the latest technologies and to manage these large-scale complex IT systems.  However, I am open to contributing some of my time to the Advisory Group, if the Guyana Government decides to set one up.  Publish the contact information in one of the newspapers and I will respond, and hopefully other Guyanese in the Diaspora will also respond and volunteer to make a contribution.
 Kris Singh

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