"There is certainly a need if not to reinvent the economies of the Caribbean, to at least think differently on how to proceed," Manning said on Tuesday night while delivering the feature address at the 20th Anniversary Gala of the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) at the Diplomatic Centre in St Ann's.
"It is clear, that as has been proven in other countries, Information and Communications Technology, based on a modern telecommunications infrastructure, is one important way out of our dilemma. This is the path to the knowledge-based society and economy demanded by our modern era."
Manning made the comment just hours after he sought to assure the country that the current economic downturn was temporary in nature, saying "that too shall pass" while he spoke to those who attended a Breakfast with the Prime Minister event at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Port of Spain.
Commending the CTU for its continuing role in advancing ICT across the region, Manning noted that the world has already changed in fundamental and dramatic ways which are having a direct impact on Caribbean economies.
He said that what is needed now in the Caribbean is "the fullest possible deployment" of ICT in the provision of goods and services in the public and private sector. In doing so, he called on governments, especially those in developing countries, to "lead the way by establishing and implementing a comprehensive national ICT plan" in their respective countries that must include e-Government systems.
Public Administration Minister Kennedy Swaratsingh, the elected president of the CTU, reiterated the Manning administration's commitment to e-Government and advancing ICT systems in Trinidad and Tobago, and called the CTU a mature organisation that has delivered "tangible results" such as the expansion of the regional telecommunications sector due to the entrance of new cellular phone, fixed line and internet service providers.
The event was attended by Grenada Prime Minister Tillman Thomas, the lead Head of Government in the Caricom Quasi-Cabinet responsible for technology, Caricom Deputy Secretary General Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite, Foreign Affairs Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon and CTU secretary general Bernadette Lewis.
---
Autor(en)/Author(s): Juhel Browne
Quelle/Source: Trinidad & Tobago Express, 01.05.2009
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
