– 5000 units expected 
A BATCH of 5000 laptops, branded with the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) and Haier logos, have left for Guyana by air, and are scheduled to arrive here by Friday, thus bringing a significant phase of the programme within reach.
The first set of learning centres in the community, commonly referred to as Information Communication Technology (ICT) Hubs, will be launched in another few days, making way for the balance of 27,000 laptops before year-end.
Recipients will be notified of the developments in the programme that seeks to provide 90,000 laptops to families over a two-year period as part of the national ICT enhancement initiative to bring the digital divide closer to those who need it the most.
The contract for the delivery was sealed on September 14 when Permanent Secretary in the Office of the President, Dr. Nanda Kishore Gopaul and Haier Electrical Appliance Limited’s General Director of Key Projects, Mr. Sun Yongle inked the US$7.5M agreement at the Office of the President.
Haier won the award after the tender was re-advertised in July for a wider participation for the supply of the laptops. Eleven bids were received and subsequently evaluated by a technical team to ascertain whether they were substantially responsive. Of the list, three tenders fitted the criteria.
The Chinese company has benevolently given an 18-month extension on the guarantee for the devices after the government had asked for 12 months and the substantial grant which China had given Guyana is likely to be used for the purchase of additional laptops.
Haier is mulling the establishment of a local office here, and is even brainstorming the idea of having a local Haier manufacturing plant which the company’s Director of Key Projects envisages will be realized within the next two years.
Beneficiaries of the free laptops who receive training will be required to pass on the knowledge to every other member in the family and dedicate 30 minutes of their time to train other people. (GINA)