E-Government in CARICOM Public FTAA.ecom/inf/137 June 4, 2002 Original: English E-Government in CARICOM Presented by Roger de Peiza Coordinator, E-Commerce Secretariat Ministry of Trade and Industry Trinidad and Tobago

Who is CARICOM? Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Dominica Grenada Guyana Haiti Jamaica Montserrat St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Suriname Trinidad and Tobago

A brief history of CARICOM 1958 - 1962 The British West Indies Federation 1962 Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago become independent states mid-1962 Common Services Conference called to discuss the continuation and strengthening of the areas of cooperation that existed during the Federation specifically UWI and the Regional Shipping Services The Government of Trinidad and Tobago proposed the creation of a Caribbean Community Dec. 1965 The Caribbean Free Trade Association (CARIFTA) was set up May 1968 The Commonwealth Caribbean Regional Secretariat established in Georgetown, Guyana October 1969 The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) established in Bridgetown, Barbados. October 1972 Caribbean Leaders decided to transform CARIFTA into a Common Market August 1973 The Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) was established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas in Trinidad & Tobago

Strategic framework for E-Government in CARICOM Leadership Governments have to “Show the Way” Regulatory and Public Policy Governments must “set the tone” Economic Competitiveness From plantation based economies to knowledge base economies MSME’s as a growth sector User friendly, efficient and effective public service Government Services Online Government Intranet & Internet Services Community Services

Why e-Government? To lay cables and wires in the ground To allow our public servants to have email To allow our public servants to browse the Internet To allow our public sectors to provide an improved level of service to the people of CARICOM

Challenges facing CARICOM member states Small size of countries and small regional market Size of population Shortage of Skilled Individuals Lack of technological skills often imply lagging productivity Lack of financial resources Weak and costly infrastructure Cumbersome bureaucratic procedures

Relative strengths of CARICOM member states Political and relative macro-economic stability Good labour relations and a trainable work force Attractive investment location Time zone advantage especially for Information Technology Strong service industry and potential for Information Technology service industry Strong Caribbean brand Bob Marley, steel pans, calypso, reggae, carnival etc.

E-Government Initiatives in member states

Antigua and Barbuda IT and e-Commerce are not yet a national priority. Initiatives are on-going for re-engineering of Customs, Treasury and Inland Revenue but e-Government services are not yet available. The Government’s IT Centre has plans to build an open-source based community application software that could be replicated across government departments. Population: 64362 (1996) Area: 440 Sq Km

Bahamas A telecommunications policy has been established and the telephone company in the process of being privatized Draft e-commerce laws have been written E-Government Initiatives Government web site Integrated justice system Customs e-filing Online company registration Population: 310,00 Area: 100,000 Sq Km www.bahamas.gov.bs

Barbados EduTech 2000 is probably the most comprehensive of educational reform in the region. This seven year programme seeks to transform the whole education network through upgrading of facilities and changing the curricula and methods of teaching to prepare students for the knowledge economy. Cooperate Affairs and Intellectual Property registry online Does allow interaction in a limited way EEPSI project - Enabling Environment for Private Sector Investment To connect those key government agencies that investors have to interact with NIS Inland Revenue Cooperate affairs and Intellectual Property Committee for e-government has been set up within the Ministry of the Civil Service to oversee the implementation of e-government Population: 264,600 (1996) Area: 430 Sq Km www.gis.gov.bb

Belize There is no formal IT or e-government policy or strategy in place at the moment E-Government by “default” The Budget wing of the Ministry of Finance is leading national initiatives to e-government by exercising control over the IT initiatives of all other departments as all proposals need to come to them for approval Population: 222,020 (1996) Area: 22,963 Sq Km

Dominica The Ministry of Communications is attempting to co-ordinate the efforts towards e-government An Inter-Ministerial Committee has been set up Population: 70,000 Area: 750 sq. km.

Grenada Grenada has finalized their e-Commerce / e-government policy A government WAN is in its implementation stage and an agency for implementing e-Government and the IT policy is to be soon established Population: 98,600 (1996) Area: 345 Sq Km

Guyana Though the Government desires to promote the IT sector there is no IT or e-Commerce policy or strategy in place and no one agency responsible for the sector E-Government type initiatives are therefore still to start Even the existing trade infrastructure is not digitized Customs had implemented the UNCTAD sponsored ASYCUDA system, but mainly for data generation Population: 770,139 (1996) Area: 214,970 Sq Km

Haiti No information currently available

Jamaica A fairly extensive IT strategy and policy has been prepared A Central Information Technology Office was set up for the implementation of e-Government initiatives as an interim measure. This will eventually become the Information Technology Authority JAMPRO also runs the Trade Point service as offers trade promotion and data via its website. Actual digitization of the whole trade network is however still to be realized Population: 2,515,500 (1996) Area: 10,991 Sq Km

St. Kitts and Nevis The government owns 69% of a company called “The CABLE” The CABLE is a Cable TV company which was transformed into a telecom provider and an ISP and it has excellent fibre-optic cable and links across the island of St. Kitts The government is looking at using this network for establishing a government WAN on which e-Government services will be offered to the public Population: 43,530 (1995) Area: 269 sq km

St. Lucia The government has already established a Wide Area Network (WAN) for itself but it appears to be rather under-utilized except for some accounting functions. No e-Government function is presently running. Customs department has been running ASYCUDA and have now established on-line links for duty collection with duty-free shops in the city. Population: 145,213 (1995) Area: 616 sq. km

St. Vincent and the Grenadines An IT project in Treasury and Inland Revenue is on but no e-Government initiative is presently being planned. Population: 111,214 (1996) Area: 388 Sq Km

Suriname There are a few government websites and some computerization but no WAN or e-Government service presently available. Population: 408,401 (1995) Area: 163,820 Sq Km

Trinidad & Tobago Trinidad & Tobago has a detailed and comprehensive IT/e-Commerce policy Separate directorates for e-Commerce and for e-Government have been set up The policy is being coordinated by a Cabinet Steering Committee for e-Government and by a private-public sector Advisory Committee for e-Commerce. Population: 1,269,100 (1996) Area: 5128 Sq Km www.gov.tt

Trinidad and Tobago’s e-government’s action plan Establish Inter-Ministerial E-Gov't Steering Committee Establish/Review policy guidelines for use of gov't IT resources Establish communication backbone Establish data Sharing Services Gov’t Internet portal for all Ministries/departments/agencies Intranet services at each Ministries/departments/agencies Network access to shared area for Public files in each Ministry Identify requirements for online Government services

Trinidad and Tobago’s e-government’s action plan (continued) Develop or Procure Web-Enabled Systems Train staff in new systems operations and procedures Enhance proficiency of Public Service staff Retool/retrain staff where needed Provide Government Services Online Develop Public Relations campaign Implement Public Service Management Systems Human Resources Management System Accounting System Document Management System

Trinidad and Tobago’s e-government’s action plan (continued) Enable government procurement via the Internet Grant national abroad access to the government Intranet Develop online community Services programme

Conclusions Many countries in CARICOM are yet to embark on e-government The larger member states (Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas) have embarked on their own initiatives CARICOM sees the need for coordination through bodies such as CARICAD We are happy for any assistance through funding, shared experiences, training etc.

Thank you for your attention