THE Guyana Government is currently in possession of a firm proposal from a consortium of local and foreign personnel to address the defects of the fibre optic cable being brought from Brazil to Guyana, meant to supply bandwidth for its E-Government Project among other services.The affirmation came yesterday when Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, gave an assurance that despite the setbacks and public criticisms, progress is being made with respect to the remedying of the defects on the multi-million-dollar fibre optic cable.

Dr. Luncheon said the consortium has essentially been engaged to ensure the serviceability of the fibre optic cable.

According to the Head of the Presidential Secretariat, it has been acknowledged that there have been defects in the cable along the way from Lethem to Georgetown and “those will have to be corrected for the bandwidth that is being purchased from Brazil to be made available for domestic use in Guyana.”

Dr. Luncheon disclosed too that the engagement with the consortium did deal specifically with the quid pro quo, namely the level of works to be undertaken in conjunction with the requisite recompense in exchange for the service.

Just last month, Dr. Luncheon had reported that several persons had been hauled before the courts over their failures to deliver on contractual obligations.

The affected areas where the cable was damaged includes Mabura, Kurupukari, Annai, and East Bank Demerara, Public Road.

Physical works for the laying of the 560-kilometers cable began in April 2011.
Vandalism was also blamed for the destruction of several lengths of the fibre optic cable in Annai among other locations.
During the relocation of utility poles to facilitate the East Bank Demerara four-lane expansion, parts of the cable were also destroyed.
Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds, had also last year attributed some delays in the completion of the project to a number of factors including difficulty procuring piles, adverse weather conditions, and the provision of electrical access to the sites.
After a few local contractors were awarded contracts to work on various sections of the fibre optic cable, sections of the cable became damaged due to poor handling.

The Guyana Government’s E-Government project which is expected to be complemented with the fibre optic cable features a data centre, a transmission network and data network.

The data centre, or control centre, is housed in the compound of Castellani House.

The transmission network stretches from Moleson Creek on the Corentyne Coast to Charity on the Essequibo Coast, using fibre optic cable of the Guyana Power and Light Inc.

The Brazil cable is slated to be connected to this network upon completion. Government had announced that the connection will allowed for, in addition to connectivity, a range of services such as ‘E-Health’ allowing for video consultation, movement of information from one health centre to another and tracking disease outbreaks.

Regarding security, the project would allow quick transmission of information including video and data between police stations.
In education, the project would set up an ‘E-library’ which would allow for access to textbooks and other teaching aids that can be used by students and schools, thereby lowering cost.

(Gary Eleazar)