The fast pace at which information technology is evolving presents tremendous potential for efficiency but also poses some challenges for the CARICOM countries in general and central bankers in particular, said Dr Carla Barnett, Deputy Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community.
The Deputy Secretary-General remarks were made as she addressed the Ninth Annual Conference of Regional Central Banks’ Information Systems Specialists, in Guyana 1 June 1998.
She highlighted that CARICOM Heads of Government had established a Consultative Committee on Caribbean Regional Information Systems to coordinate and advise on the development of effective information systems in the Region.
The Deputy Secretary-General informed that the Consultative Committee has proposed that CARICOM States, as a group, must establish the conditions in which the Region can participate in the global electronic market and must develop a strategic policy framework.
Such a policy should aim at three things:
It should aim at transforming the delivery of public services, public management and communications by implementing new technology to achieve improved levels of quality, appropriateness to customer requirements and value for money.
It should also aim at putting in place the arrangements which are required to ensure a strong CARICOM presence and performance in the global communications and multimedia industries, for the Region to become a major creative centre for the development and export of multimedia content and information services.
Finally such a policy should aim at ensuring that CARICOM’s general economic competitiveness is enhanced by communications, information and technology capabilities of its people and infrastructure.
“The successful implementation of these three objectives would steer the Community in the direction of becoming a dynamic information society which cuts across industry, government and residential markets,” said the Deputy Secretary-General.
Dr Barnett added that although some CARICOM countries had developed information policies in support of national information systems, more needed to be done at the national and regional levels to support CARICOM States in developing a regional information society for the next century.
The Deputy Secretary-General added that the Region needed to ensure that the facilitating environment is created to achieve the transformation. She noted that this facilitating environment would have as important elements; universal access, the provision of relevant education and training, with the accent being on life-long training and education, value added services, focusing on content, training and research and development and the creation and maintenance of smart partnerships with key stakeholders in society.
Dr. Barnett stressed that there are tremendous implications with regards to evolving information technology and information systems for the financial sector and the role and function of the central bankers.
The Deputy Secretary-General added that with major developments in the banking industry such as “electronic or digital money” and mergers of major international banks will bring into focus issues such as capital flows. To this extent she suggested that need for “up-to-date” regulatory practices must be developed and put in place to minimise the risks which arise from these innovations.
She emphasised that while attention is being focussed on coming to grips with the new technology and its impact on the way business is done, people should never lose sight of the new risks which arise with the new technologies. She stressed too that people must be mindful of the importance of putting proper security systems in place as information systems can become increasingly vulnerable to security breaches.
Dr Barnett stressed the need for training of a cadre of qualified staff who are flexible and “technology-oriented is key for it is these staff who drive the system and will ensure the sustainability and productivity of it. It is they who will need to keep pace with developments in technology and measures that need to be taken to ensure the security and viability of the system and the information it carries.”
