The Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector will continue to advance and evolve with the Government’s commitment to accelerating the country’s assimilation of new technologies in business and daily life.
The ICT hub in Bamia, Linden
Finance Minister Winston Jordan, during his presentation of the 2018 Budget in the National Assembly on Monday, explained that the Administration’s focus would be on completing the liberalisation process in the telecommunications sector.
According to Minister Jordan, the ICT sector has been transforming traditional sectors such as transport, security, health and education.
“Government is keen on having the benefits of a competitive ICT industry being passed on to the consumer in the form of improved services, added coverage, and reduced cost. Additionally, we will be working to further develop the requisite infrastructure to support such a transformation. Our interventions, going forward, will be guided by our National ICT Strategy, which will be finalised in 2018,” Minister Jordan outlined.
The foundation was laid for the full operationalisation of the Centre of Excellence in Information Technology (CEIT) – an ICT finishing school geared to bridge the gap between academia and industry. The building that will house the Centre was completely refurbished and furnished and in 2018, more than 100 students are expected to graduate from the Centre with advanced education in network security. More than $140 million has been allocated to support the CEIT in the new year, the Finance Minister told the National Assembly.
It was also noted that capacity building remains a priority for the Administration since innovation was critical to supporting transformative growth.
In 2016, “We started nurturing the talent of our local community by hosting events such as Hackathons and CodeSprints. These have been a success, with the eventual winners of the latter developing a practical Agricultural Commodities Trade Exchange that will be employed by the Ministry of Agriculture,” Minister Jordan said.
The Finance Minister said that the recently-concluded Hackathon required participants to create a software or mobile application that catered to the management of rates and taxes and reporting for municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs). While still in the early stages, the Government anticipates the application developed by the winners will be put to good use.
