POLICY STATEMENTS

According to the Guyana Budget Speech 2012, the vision of the government is to ensure that every single Guyanese person, irrespective of where they live or how old they are, has access to the advantages brought by ICT.

STRATEGIC PLAN

Our ICT strategy will facilitate dramatic increases in social and economic welfare at all levels, catalyse major transformative change in the way in which we educate our people, in the manner in which business is conducted and government services are delivered, and in the types of jobs we create.

 To this end, our strategy prioritises legislative change to promote a competitive and efficient environment, investment in infrastructure to increase connectivity and reduce cost, and that promotes ICT education in our schools, and improves access to ICT for all our people.
source: Guyana Budget Speech 2012

Guyana’s Information Society Country Profile. ECLAC. November 2006
This former British colony is the largest territory covered in the study and, although it is located on the South American continent, its low population density and concentration of the population in the coastal areas, high level of migration and vulnerability issues make it face similar challenges related to remoteness, isolation and communications constraints as other Caribbean islands. Its hinterland communities are like small islands in a vast land archipelago and while the country isrich in natural resources, it too faces the challenges or reinventing and diversifying its economy in the light of changes in the global markets.

2006 opens a new era for the country and should be a turning point for its Public Policies with the launch of the 3-year Public Management Modernization Project (PMMP) and the National ICT for Development Strategy (ICT4D Guyana). However, with Presidential and Legislative elections taking place in August, it is most likely that these initiatives will only begin to show their full strength by year’s end and from 2007 on.

• ICT 4D Guyana national strategy. Final draft. April 2006/
  Guyana's National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Strategy is a plan to facilitate and ensure the dramatic increase of our social and economic wealth at all levels: individual, organizational and national. The Strategy is geared to leverage and enhance Guyana's human resources, innovation, education, infrastructure and information technology to accelerate economic and social development.

• Guyana Information and Communications Technology for Development Strategy: Discussion Paper

     The National Development Strategy (NDS), which was crafted by local experts and tabled in the National Assembly, views Information and Communications Technology as one of the important means of improving Guyana’s capacity to diversify the economy, increase competitiveness, attract investors, create jobs and opportunities, market local products and enhance the efficient delivery of services including health, education, and environmental protection. Most importantly, it holds the key to acquire knowledge and further develop our human capital. This position has been reinforced by the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper supported by the international financial institution

• DEVNET
• Guyana Development Gateway
• ICT Guyana

• Office of the President
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Guyana Government Information Agency
• Ministry of Information
• Bank of Guyana

ENABLING LEGISLATIONS

NEWS

Guyana Information Technology Centre

Digicel calls for liberalization of Guyanese Telecommunication sector

PUBLICATIONS/DOCUMENTS

• CASE STUDY – “Developing a low cost community access point in Guyana “  by Keeran Persaud. December 2006
  Community telecentres are important points for access for people who would not
  ordinarily afford their own access to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). In Guyana, there are few community telecentres and limited experience in establishing them. Despite this, the Society for Empowerment and Wholistic Advancement(SEWA) sought partnerships to create a community access point.

• State of ICT Statistics Collection and Dissemination in Guyana

On March 28, 2006, an ICT4D Guyana National Strategy was launched by the President of Guyana at a workshop co-ordinated by Mr. Robert Persaud (Appendix 1). The workshop was attended by a wide cross-section of ICT stakeholders who examined all the ICT thematic areas.

Subsequently, an ICT Sub-Committee on Statistics was formally established on the 4th of October 2007 at the Inaugural Meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) held in Guyana. The main objective of the meeting was to consider themes, issues and indicators for data collection on ICT that are of relevance to the Region and formulate a Draft Work Plan for the functioning of the Sub-Committee.

• Information Technology

One of the chapters in Guyana's National Development Strategy (NDS) is dedicated to dealing with Information Technology (IT). The NDS views IT as a significant enabling factor in improving a country's competitiveness and its social and economic growth. With globalisation on the increase, the NDS points out that the natural resources and low labour costs are no longer enough for countries to attain development. What it posits is that access to IT and knowledge is vital to tackle economic underdevelopment and inspire development. As such, the NDS recommends the appropriate investment and swift adaptation of IT, for social and economic development.

It also points out that the telecommunications infrastructure is the main impediment to the development of an efficient IT sector. The NDS envisages a huge role for IT in the development of Guyana. It recognizes that IT has a part to play in improving trade performance by improving the efficiency of transactions, increasing market scope (e-commerce) and reducing costs of services, etc. In addition to this, the NDS sees a major role for IT in public sector management (improving efficiency, transparency and accountability), agriculture, health and education sectors among others.
source:ICT 4D Guyana national strategy. Final draft