ST GEORGES, Grenada (GIS) – Grenada, with the support of the Indian government, is establishing a Centre of Excellence in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).
Under the project – the first of its kind in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) – India is providing equipment for ICT Centre, which is expected to open by September.
The project involves the upgrading and expanding of an existing facility of the Grenada Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) in St Georges.
The facility was recently toured by a government team that included Minister with responsibility for Information and ICT, Senator Arley Gill.
Sonia Roden, GIDC Investment Project Manager, said the ICT Centre of Excellence will offer a range of training programmes to assist with national development.
“An ICT Centre is critical for the country’s development,’’ she said. “Almost everything you do, you use ICT.’’
Senator Gill said the proposed centre is “extremely important’’ in Grenada’s move towards a “knowledge-based economy,’’ and in bringing full ICT services to all parts of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.
“We hope that the ICT Centre of Excellence will be the nerve centre for the OECS, where we can have hundreds of our young people being trained on the latest technology; not just in the use of computers but also in software development right here in Grenada,’’ Senator Gill said. “That’s one critical service we believe we can sell and provide to the rest of the region.’’
To encourage greater utilisation of computers nationwide, government has introduced the use of laptop computers for such things as note-taking and document submissions at cabinet meetings.
The first electronic – or E-cabinet – meeting was held during a sitting at which a presentation to Prime Minister Tillman Thomas and his Ministers was made by Elma Gene Isaac and Keith Friday of the St. Lucia-based OECS Secretariat.
Isaac is Head of the Regional Integration Unit of the OECS, and Friday is Head of the OECS Legal Unit. While here, the two also participating in a live television discussion on the new OECS Economic Union, which comes into effect in June.
Senator Gill said utilising computers at Cabinet meetings allows for ICT- and E-compliance at the government level. It’s also a cost-saving measure.
“By having all of our Ministers ICT-compliant, and being able to have Cabinet meetings using computers, help to save costs,’’ Senator Gill said. “Every week, there are tons of papers to be photocopied to facilitate cabinet meetings and that’s been happening for so many years.’’
As chair of Science and Technology at CARICOM, Grenada must also be seen to be a leader in the field and inspire a higher level of ICT use, especially among the nation’s youth, Senator Gill said.
“We believe a good place to start is at Cabinet,’’ the Senator said. “We hope that not long from now we can use more technology as a teaching aid in our classrooms to ensure that our students all over the Tri-island State are E-compliant.’’
The Junior Minister, who is also responsible for Culture, promised that Grenadians will soon be benefitting from more E-government services, such as the issuance of electronic copies of birth certificates.
“That is where we are heading,’’ he said.
