1. 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

2. 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

3. A brief history of CARICOM
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

4. 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

5. Why e-Government? To lay cables and wires in the ground
To allow our public servants to have
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

6. 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

7. 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.

8. E-Government Initiatives in member states

9. 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: (1996) Area: 440 Sq Km

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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, Area: 750 sq. km.

14. 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

15. 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

16. Haiti
No information currently available

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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.

27. Thank you for your attention