That is according to senior project officer for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Development at CARICOM, Jennifer Britton, as she delivered the welcome at the 2009-2012 Caribbean e-Government Strategy Planning meeting yesterday morning held at the Caribbean Development Bank Wildey, St. Michael.
According to Britton, transforming Government services from office buildings is not easy but the change must be planned strategically. If not, there would be little improvement in the public sector and countries can find themselves falling behind in the information age.
“By not planning, e-Governments can miss out on numerous opportunities, some of which can save tax payers money and others can improve the quality of life, but poor planning will drive the cost of Governments higher,” said Britton.
She explained that transforming Governments to incorporate e-Government services requires the use of ICTs. “We must cultivate the thinking of e-Government as a tool for creating public value but ICT by itself will not result in a different or better Government or a higher quality of life but... reform must go hand in hand with the introduction of ICT to the public administrative operations.”
Britton stressed that policymakers must push to ensure that citizens of the region have the services that they need.
She added that the project’s implementation would be useful to lessen the information divide between Governments, inter-governmental agencies and between Governments and citizens by providing a dignified approach to the planning, management and implementation of e-Government plans and activities in the region; developing the electronic infrastructure between Governments and inter-governmental agencies and building capacity in the region.
According to her, implementing e-Governments “demands a shift from Government as a doer to Government as a provider.” She said that the intention is to channel this critical change management into action quickly to help the region take its right place in the world.
In her remarks, Executive Director of CARICAD, Jennifer Astaphan, stated that the region is ready right now for the transformation of the public services in the region.
Astaphan said that some people still have the perspective that putting in computers will transform Governments but the key is dealing with people since they are a critical component of changing public administrations and services.
---
Autor(en)/Author(s): Allison Ramsay
Quelle/Source: The Barbados Advocate, 30.01.2009
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
