E-Government in CARICOM

1
E-Government in CARICOM
Public FTAA.ecom/inf/137 June 4, 2002 Original
English

• Presented by
• Roger de Peiza
• Coordinator, E-Commerce Secretariat
• Ministry of Trade and Industry
• Trinidad and Tobago

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Who is CARICOM?

1. Antigua and Barbuda
2. Bahamas
3. Barbados
4. Belize
5. Dominica
6. Grenada
7. Guyana
8. Haiti
9. Jamaica
10. Montserrat
11. St. Kitts and Nevis
12. St. Lucia
13. St. Vincent and the Grenadines
14. Suriname
15. Trinidad and Tobago

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A brief history of CARICOM
1958 - 1962 The British West Indies Federation
1962 Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago become independent states
mid-1962 Common Services Conference called to discuss the continuation and strengthening of the areas of cooperation that existed during the Federation specifically UWI and the Regional Shipping Services
1962 The Government of Trinidad and Tobago proposed the creation of a Caribbean Community
Dec. 1965 The Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) was set up
May 1968 The Commonwealth Caribbean Regional Secretariat established in Georgetown, Guyana
October 1969 The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) established in Bridgetown, Barbados.
October 1972 Caribbean Leaders decided to transform CARIFTA into a Common Market
August 1973 The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) was established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas in Trinidad Tobago
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Strategic framework for E-Governmentin CARICOM

• Leadership
• Governments have to Show the Way
• Regulatory and Public Policy
• Governments must set the tone
• Economic Competitiveness
• From plantation based economies to knowledge base
  economies
• MSMEs as a growth sector
• User friendly, efficient and effective public
  service
• Government Services Online
• Government Intranet Internet Services
• Community Services

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Why e-Government?

• To lay cables and wires in the ground
• To allow our public servants to have email
• To allow our public servants to browse the
  Internet

To allow our public sectors to provide an
improved level of service to the people of
CARICOM
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Challenges facing CARICOM member states

• Small size of countries and small regional market
• Size of population
• Shortage of Skilled Individuals
• Lack of technological skills often imply lagging
  productivity
• Lack of financial resources
• Weak and costly infrastructure
• Cumbersome bureaucratic procedures

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Relative strengths of CARICOM member states

• Political and relative macro-economic stability
• Good labour relations and a trainable work force
• Attractive investment location
• Time zone advantage especially for Information
  Technology
• Strong service industry and potential for
  Information Technology service industry
• Strong Caribbean brand
• Bob Marley, steel pans, calypso, reggae, carnival
  etc.

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E-Government Initiatives in member states
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Antigua and Barbuda

• IT and e-Commerce are not yet a national
  priority.
• Initiatives are on-going for re-engineering of
  Customs, Treasury and Inland Revenue but
  e-Government services are not yet available.
• The Governments IT Centre has plans to build an
  open-source based community application software
  that could be replicated across government
  departments.

Population 64362 (1996) Area 440 Sq Km
10
Bahamas

• A telecommunications policy has been established
  and the telephone company in the process of being
  privatized
• Draft e-commerce laws have been written
• E-Government Initiatives
• Government web site
• Integrated justice system
• Customs e-filing
• Online company registration

Population 310,00 Area 100,000 Sq
Km www.bahamas.gov.bs
11
Barbados

• EduTech 2000 is probably the most comprehensive
  of educational reform in the region.
• This seven year programme seeks to transform the
  whole education network through upgrading of
  facilities and changing the curricula and methods
  of teaching to prepare students for the knowledge
  economy.
• Cooperate Affairs and Intellectual Property
  registry online
• Does allow interaction in a limited way
• EEPSI project - Enabling Environment for Private
  Sector Investment
• To connect those key government agencies that
  investors have to interact with
• NIS
• Inland Revenue
• Cooperate affairs and Intellectual Property
• Committee for e-government has been set up within
  the Ministry of the Civil Service to oversee the
  implementation of e-government

Population 264,600 (1996) Area 430 Sq
Km www.gis.gov.bb
12
Belize

• There is no formal IT or e-government policy or
  strategy in place at the moment
• E-Government by default
• The Budget wing of the Ministry of Finance is
  leading national initiatives to e-government by
  exercising control over the IT initiatives of all
  other departments as all proposals need to come
  to them for approval

Population 222,020 (1996) Area 22,963 Sq Km
13
Dominica

• The Ministry of Communications is attempting to
  co-ordinate the efforts towards e-government
• An Inter-Ministerial Committee has been set up

Population 70,000 Area 750 sq. km.
14
Grenada

• Grenada has finalized their e-Commerce /
  e-government policy
• A government WAN is in its implementation stage
  and an agency for implementing e-Government and
  the IT policy is to be soon established

Population 98,600 (1996) Area 345 Sq Km
15
Guyana

• Though the Government desires to promote the IT
  sector there is no IT or e-Commerce policy or
  strategy in place and no one agency responsible
  for the sector
• E-Government type initiatives are therefore still
  to start
• Even the existing trade infrastructure is not
  digitized
• Customs had implemented the UNCTAD sponsored
  ASYCUDA system, but mainly for data generation

Population 770,139 (1996) Area 214,970 Sq Km
16
Haiti

• No information currently available

17
Jamaica

• A fairly extensive IT strategy and policy has
  been prepared
• A Central Information Technology Office was set
  up for the implementation of e-Government
  initiatives as an interim measure. This will
  eventually become the Information Technology
  Authority
• JAMPRO also runs the Trade Point service as
  offers trade promotion and data via its website.
  Actual digitization of the whole trade network is
  however still to be realized

Population 2,515,500 (1996) Area 10,991 Sq Km
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St. Kitts and Nevis

• The government owns 69 of a company called The
  CABLE
• The CABLE is a Cable TV company which was
  transformed into a telecom provider and an ISP
  and it has excellent fibre-optic cable and links
  across the island of St. Kitts
• The government is looking at using this network
  for establishing a government WAN on which
  e-Government services will be offered to the
  public

Population 43,530 (1995) Area 269 sq km
19
St. Lucia

• The government has already established a Wide
  Area Network (WAN) for itself but it appears to
  be rather under-utilized except for some
  accounting functions.
• No e-Government function is presently running.
• Customs department has been running ASYCUDA and
  have now established on-line links for duty
  collection with duty-free shops in the city.

Population 145,213 (1995) Area 616 sq. km
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St. Vincent and the Grenadines

• An IT project in Treasury and Inland Revenue is
  on but no e-Government initiative is presently
  being planned.

Population 111,214 (1996) Area 388 Sq Km
21
Suriname

• There are a few government websites and some
  computerization but no WAN or e-Government
  service presently available.

Population 408,401 (1995) Area 163,820 Sq Km
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Trinidad Tobago

• Trinidad Tobago has a detailed and
  comprehensive IT/e-Commerce policy
• Separate directorates for e-Commerce and for
  e-Government have been set up
• The policy is being coordinated by a Cabinet
  Steering Committee for e-Government and by a
  private-public sector Advisory Committee for
  e-Commerce.

Population 1,269,100 (1996) Area 5128 Sq
Km www.gov.tt
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Trinidad and Tobagos e-governments action plan

• Establish Inter-Ministerial E-Gov't Steering
  Committee
• Establish/Review policy guidelines for use of
  gov't IT resources
• Establish communication backbone
• Establish data Sharing Services
• Govt Internet portal for all Ministries/departmen
  ts/agencies
• Intranet services at each Ministries/departments/a
  gencies
• Network access to shared area for Public files in
  each Ministry
• Identify requirements for online Government
  services

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Trinidad and Tobagos e-governments action plan
(continued)

• Develop or Procure Web-Enabled Systems
• Train staff in new systems operations and
  procedures
• Enhance proficiency of Public Service staff
• Retool/retrain staff where needed
• Provide Government Services Online
• Develop Public Relations campaign
• Implement Public Service Management Systems
• Human Resources Management System
• Accounting System
• Document Management System

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Trinidad and Tobagos e-governments action plan
(continued)

1. Enable government procurement via the Internet
2. Grant national abroad access to the government
   Intranet
3. Develop online community Services programme

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Conclusions

• Many countries in CARICOM are yet to embark on
  e-government
• The larger member states (Trinidad and Tobago,
  Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas) have embarked on
  their own initiatives
• CARICOM sees the need for coordination through
  bodies such as CARICAD
• We are happy for any assistance through funding,
  shared experiences, training etc.

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• Thank you for your attention