THE decision to distribute 90,000 laptops to families in need in Guyana is unprecedented. It must be noted that the entire country has 182,000 households. About a third of households already have a desktop or laptop at home. What this means is that after the laptop distribution most families will have access to the use of a computer. Economic development has many dimensions to it. One of the most important of these is human development. In this regard access to knowledge is a fundamental component. As the president has said on a few occasions, the access to computers and to the internet is not only good for students, but also for parents. It will provide the opportunity for Guyanese to develop new skills, and as the economy continues to move in the direction of services, these skills will become more marketable.
Readers should know that the laptop project is not simply a matter of distribution of hardware. Rather, the laptop-to-family project is actually part of an overarching plan to diversify the economic base of the country. This is vital in an age of what Allan Greenspan once called ‘ideas based value’. Simply put, the economic future of Guyana lies as much in knowledge-based human resources as it does in the traditional sectors.
While roads, bridges, electricity, etc. are vital components in infrastructural development, we must also recognize that an IT infrastructure is equally urgent. This is why both private and public resources have been invested to significantly increasing the broadband capacity in the country.
With the quadrupling of bandwidth and the simultaneous development of the human resource consistent with that infrastructure base, the country as a whole will become more computer literate, more skilled, and more ready for the world of e-commerce.
A number of specific benefits can emerge from these developments. These include but are not limited to the following – (1) students will be able to use the web to access information relevant to the completion of assignments; full time workers and those who live away from the two university campuses in Guyana may be able to do online courses; U.G. faculty may use teaching technologies such as Blackboard to enhance instruction; investors (both local and foreign) may tap into Guyana’s competence in English for purposes of e-commerce (e.g. customer services and billing;); government services will be enhanced, thereby improving on ‘customer satisfaction’ and efficiency. The list can go on and on.
It is important that Guyanese look at ways in which individuals and communities might take advantage of these developments. And do remember, nothing will please those letter writers who are simply bent on peddling or even manufacturing bad news. Good news for Guyanese families really makes these guys sad.