Over the last six months, the Public Telecommunications Ministry has been engaged in a number of activities aimed at creating a knowledge-based society that is globally competitive and productive. As such, they have identified 55 Information Communication Technology (ICT) hubs across the country.
Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes, told media operatives on Thursday during a mid-year press conference at her Ministry, that they have been engaged in installing hardware in some of these identified locations with the hope
Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes
that they will be completed and become operational soon.
The communities selected for these facilities, are identified by three categories: poor, remote and hinterland. Hughes said this will allow for equal opportunities and people within those very communities will have the same access to ICT tools for people living in the coastal region.
“This is part of our goal of providing the technology and the opportunity for our citizens to conduct research and for children to complete research. This will also open up opportunities for many online businesses and for people to exercise their entrepreneurial skills,” the minister stated.
So far, 16 ICT hubs have been completed and each of the centres is now preparing to create cubicles and furnishing. They will be equipped with laptop computers and Internet. However, the ultimate goal is to establish 406 ICT hubs in communities through Guyana.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the National Data Management Authority (NDMA), Floyd Levi said the process of setting up an ICT hub starts by way of consultation with regional officials.
“Once the communities are identified, we go in and meet with the community officials. They elect their own persons to work with us and we work with them to establish the hub,” he explained.
Levi said technical support is then provided to these hubs. Training in management and basic computer literacy courses are also provided to people who are selected to be in charge of the facility.
There is also a monitoring committee that is selected and tasked with the role of overlooking the management committee to ensure they operate in a manner of fairness and equity.
“The important thing, we stress, is that what we provide is not for people of a specific political or religious persuasion, but we are providing access to all Guyanese,” he added.
Further, Hughes said some 24 Government Ministries and agencies; 84 secondary educational institutions, 90 vet institutions, five regional development officers, 21 tertiary education and skills building institutions; and 24 other skills-based institutions have been connected to the E-Governance Fibre Optic Network.
She said the objective is to improve the quality of social services, to fight crime, to boost the standard of education, to promote digital literacy, and provide an ICT path.
While admitting that there is still a lot more work to be done, the Minister said her Ministry is laying the ground work to ensure that Guyana becomes a national digital economy.
The Public Telecommunications Ministry was conceived in January 2016. The fundamental purpose of the Ministry is to develop an enabling environment at the policy and infrastructure level to ensure that ICT is fully utilised for national development and economic advancement.
The overall vision of the MPT is the creation of a society that will give rise to the strategic placement of Guyana as a premier ICT hub in the region.
The vision also includes an enabling environment for the creation of a viable Private Sector that will create wealth and employment.
