WILLEMSTAD, Curacao, CMC – There is an urgent need for investment in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to help bolster the prospects for Caribbean economies, says the chief executive officer of the Central Bank of the Netherlands Antilles.
“Today more than ever, technology and specifically Information and Communication Technology is considered one of the main factors contributing to the economic recovery and sustained growth,” Emsley Tromp told delegates attending the 26th Annual Conference of the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organisations (CANTO) being held here.
Tromp said the need for ICT investment is critical at this time to help regional countries recover from the economic downturn over the past two years.
“As the world economies recover from one of the worst economic crises in decades, ICT is bound to play an increasingly prominent role in enabling economic growth,” he assured the gathering being held under the theme “Embracing Technology for Economic Success”.
“ICT has become an essential element of the infrastructure of the big, competitive economies. In today’s world, the ability to create, distribute and exploit knowledge is a major source of competitive advantage, wealth creation and improvements in the quality of life,” Tromp added.
The Central Bank official said further that ICT provides the foundation of the knowledge-based societies that countries of the region and elsewhere have been striving to achieve “because it allows economies to acquire and share ideas, expertise, services and technology locally, regionally and across the world”.
He noted that investment in the ICT sector would also go a long way to spur productivity, although there was an overriding need for better regulation of the sector to make the Caribbean more attractive to investors seeking to pump their dollars into the region – both for infrastructure and value-added services.
“Several factors affect a firm’s decision to invest in and use ICT. First is the availability and safety of the ICT infrastructure. For example, these days the availability of adequate bandwidth with access to the international information superhighway is crucial.”
Tromp said another factor affecting a firm’s investment decision is related to the cost of getting the necessary technologies, as well as the ease of access.
“A quick assessment of the ICT environment in the Caribbean reveals that one of our main weaknesses is the availability and affordability of the state-of-the-art ICT services. Although significant ICT investments have been in place over the past decade, the availability of business-oriented technologies differs considerably among countries in the region,” he said.
The Central Bank CEO said that as Caribbean countries are expected to show signs of economic recovery in the months ahead, the opportunity should be used to seek to create more diversity in regional economies.
“Instead of focusing on traditional industries, investments must be made in those sectors that can increase productivity and boost economic growth in the region. Needless to say the policy agenda should include measures to stimulate invasion and infusion of ICT in the business sector, particularly the high-tech and services industries,” Tromp said.
