SECRETARY to the Cabinet, Dr Roger Luncheon yesterday declared that authorities will not allow the rollout of government’s e-governance project to be “high-jacked” and be treated irresponsibly.

“Cabinet is firm. The project team and government functionaries will work to resolve this matter,” Dr. Luncheon said at his weekly post-Cabinet press conference at the Office of the President in Georgetown.
Residents of Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, recently staged a protest to block the establishment of one of the 55 Long-Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A) towers that are to be erected throughout the country.
Irate residents protested that construction of the tower had already started on their community centre ground and authorities had not informed them beforehand.
But Dr. Luncheon, who is also Head of the Presidential Secretariat,  yesterday informed that the Chairman of the Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) has in his possession  the relevant e-government correspondence to the effect that information was provided to councillors and ultimately to the community.
“What then were the protesters protesting? The real issue, as far as Cabinet is concerned, are the implications and the impact of their terrible misguided action. Cabinet has deemed it incredible that there could be a protest lodged against the rollout of the transformative project, the ICT (Information Communication Technology) project in Region 4, in Plaisance,” Luncheon said.
He contended that the whole of Guyana knows that ICT is treated by the PPP/C’s administration as a fundamental sector. “It has been identified as making important contributions to our development and the budget this year makes this evident with a $4B allocation for ICT,” he pointed out.
This ICT project sees Guyanese being provided with connectivity through the existing networks and also the more recent Government of Guyana design, using the cable from Brazil passing through Linden and ending at Castellani House lawns in Georgetown.
A coastal component would link Moleson Creek in Region 6, in the east, with Charity in Region 2, in the west.
According to Luncheon, a total of 55 towers would be erected in Regions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, and 10 and they would provide for the coastal backbone needed for Guyanese to enjoy that connectivity.
“The e-government team as with all of the sites identified for the construction of the 55 towers, contacted the responsible agencies, outlined the activity surrounding tower construction, secured their support, and ultimately, their approval,” Luncheon said.
The e-governance project, launched under former President Bharrat Jagdeo, is expected to ‘bear fruit’ this year with the installation of the LTE-A towers across the country, along with computer banks being installed in each Amerindian Village.
Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, in presenting the budget recently, said that in 2012 a total of $1.9B was invested by government on acquiring and installing critical ICT infrastructure.
This, he said, includes over 580 kilometres of fibre optic cable from Lethem to Georgetown, with five repeater stations along the route, constructing and commissioning the e-government data centre, which is now being tested, “and procuring the equipment and software for the LTE-A sites which is the latest in 4G wireless technology.”