Fifty one and counting…

Apr 09, 2017 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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Fifty one and counting … As at March 31, 2017 this was the number of Community ICT internet hubs that have been activated in Georgetown, in most of our municipalities and in some remote communities. So far, over 98,000 citizens in Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 9 now have free access to the internet. The ICT project execution unit, formerly eGovernment, is overseeing the establishment of the community hubs at a laudably fast pace.
In this first quarter of 2017 alone, the technicians worked in communities all along the Essequibo Coast and guided the construction or re-construction of community centres, or renovation of old buildings, or in the case of the Good Hope community near Supenaam, the conversion of an old market to what today looks just like a spanking new building. It is properly partitioned to accommodate a kitchen, bathrooms, an auditorium and the first complete, fully outfitted Community ICT Hub on the Essequibo Coast.
The computer section is equipped with ten (10) laptop computers all placed in neatly arranged cubicles. The computers were provided by the Ministry of Public Telecommunications and the necessary hardware which facilitates connection to the LTE network on the coast was installed in January by the ICT department’s technical team led by Director Phillip Walcott. This team is traversing the nation setting up internet connections in rural and remote communities and schools.
Minister of Public Telecommunications Catherine Hughes was invited by the proud community to participate in the commissioning of their new ICT Community Hub. She told them – residents and students of the nearby Aurora Secondary School – that she was happy to witness a Community ICT Hub come to life.
“This is the very essence of walking the talk. You have shown us how committed you are to the education of your children, to the growth of your community through entrepreneurship, and to your ability to connect in real time with other people anywhere in the world to share ideas and start new businesses,” she stated.
“The whole world is pushing entrepreneurship and the more developed nations are making it easier for micro industries to gain a foothold in the global market,” she stated, while explaining how easy it is to sell Made-in-Guyana products via the internet.
She told the story of the industrious woman at Anna Regina who has been exporting Tamarind Balls, Guava Cheese, Mettai and other indigenous Guyanese finger foods to the Guyanese diaspora. The amount of orders kept growing all due to her online connections and facebook advertising.
On March 24, the residents of Masakenari in the Deep South Rupununi began to use the robust satellite connection which has replaced the degraded system that was installed there in 2013. While the eGovernment Project Execution Unit (now NDMA) is responsible for installing internet-related equipment in our communities, the Masakenari project was put out to bid last January and five internet service providers had responded.
The IMON Wireless Solutions Company subsequently won the contract and installed a robust C-Band VSAT system with unlimited capacity and no data cap on usage. It has the ability to withstand severe weather conditions and allows the Toshao and residents to communicate with anyone at any time, whether in drought, flood or sunny weather. It also provides the approximately 300 Wai Wai residents with a faster path to modern healthcare, education and security. Of course, every precaution is being taken to avoid interfering with their customs and traditions.
The eGov/NDMA team will soon begin work in the hinterland regions – in this quarter of the year – to set up hubs at Aishalton, Annai, Waramadong, Iwokrama, Paramakatoi and Lethem. The ever-widening network will also extend to Mabaruma, Port Kaituma, Matthews Ridge and Mahdia.
The community ICT hubs are being set up simultaneously with educational institutions. To date, teachers and students at 85 secondary schools, 17 technical/vocational institutes, 4 Regional Education Offices and the teachers training college (CPCE) have been connected to the eGovernment platform. The Ministry of Public Telecommunications is also collaborating with the University of Guyana to provide solutions for connecting the Johns, Tain and Turkeyen campuses and the IDCE locations. A content filtering system for secondary schools will also be installed in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
Minister Hughes has pointed out that all of the bandwidth required and utilized during school and business hours is available for free usage at community ICT hubs in the evenings and at weekends.
She stated that the Ministry is determined to place Guyana on equal footing digitally with the more developed countries in the Caribbean at least. The key requirement is education which is now highly digitized, and on ICT skill creation. To this end, the Ministry will commission Guyana’s first dedicated ICT training institute, the Centre of Excellence in Information technology, later this year. In the first 24 months the institute, located on UG’s Turkeyen campus, will provide advanced technological training for 500 public sector IT professionals and students.
NDMA also intends to design software and systems to ensure that our senior citizens could have easier access to their pensions. Work on a Citizen Incident Reporting system with a feedback mechanism has progressed in recent months, and the online passport and visa application software is currently being refined.
These initiatives form part of the Government’s forward drive to digitize public services and the entire administrative platform; to ensure that citizens in all regions become computer and internet savvy through free access; and ultimately to spur the development of cottage industries and lucrative business partnerships.
“We have already cut quite a few inroads,” Minister Hughes said. “There is a lot of work on our calendar and we are well on the way to getting it done”.

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