I.T. forum organized to improve efficiency
Government officials, public, and private sector representatives participated in a one-day forum today designed to increase efficiency. According to organisers, the session entitled: E-Governance and National Information Communications and Technology describes how the internet can be used to access important data and services.
Myrtle Palacio, Director, Office of Governance
“In the development of I.C.T. in Belize, it’s not very much planned. How do we want to use it? How can we enhance it? What are other countries doing for the sake of development? Where will Belize go? How do we use I.C.T. for further development? That is the guidance we are getting here today and we will see what happens in the way forward for Belize with these leaders that are here.“
Devindra Ramnarine, Workshop Facilitator
“The thing is that information and communication technology has been shown all over the world to improve countries, to transform people’s lives. At the end of the day, it is to about making people’s lives better.”
“People have access to the technology, but the question is, it enough? Is it optimal for what Belize wants? Where does Belize want to go and to what extent can I.C.T.’s, computers, communications, the whole cost of telecoms, the whole cost of the computers, the kind of information that you use the computers for and in particular the kinds of information and services that government provides to its citizens? For example, there is no real reason why somebody should have to travel from a remote area to Belmopan to do something if you can go to a community access centre and apply for a birth paper online and have it sent in the mail or you can get your diver’s licence renewed or make a query. So it’s all about government improving the quality of the service it delivers to its citizens and to businesses through the use of technology.”
Devindra Ramnarine is an Advisor to the Commonwealth Secretariat. Co-facilitator of today’s forum was David Little of P.S.T.G. Consulting in Canada.
