Read more: BS: Local real estate firm takes e-government site tour
The upgrades are part of Phase I of the Government’s plan to “transform schools into strong, technological centres” through national and international linkages utilising an Information Communications Technology (ICT) Sub-Component.
Read more: BS: Implementation of ICT programme underway in Public School System
Noting that the decline in broadband Internet penetration indicated that Bahamians were not fully exploiting information and communications technology (ICT) opportunities, a sector seen by many countries as a vital to economic growth, Wayne Aranha said progress on online access would aid the development of industries such as e-commerce, tele-medicine and e-banking.
The former PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) partner and accountant, writing in URCA's 2012 report, said: "A major challenge for the Bahamas is to get more people online, particularly given that penetration decreased between 2009 and 2010.
Read more: BS: 22% Broadband Penetration Fall 'Major Challenge'
Through www.bahamas.gov.bs, general information about the government and the Bahamas can be obtained and online payments can be made for things such as a driver’s licence and real property tax.
“I was extremely excited about the implementation of e-government – the opportunity to provide services to the public by way of the Internet and make it easier, more efficient and more effective to serve the public,” Mr Laing said.
Describing the report's finding that Bahamian companies faced a tax burden equivalent to 48 per cent of their annual profits as "high", Zhivargo Laing said that while the Government had made some headway in making the conduct of business in the Bahamas easier, it had "lots more progress to make".