…$375M allocated to expand ICT hubs programme
GUYANESE will secure their connection to the future with acceleration of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector for which the 2019 Budget provides.
This is the belief of Minister of Public Telecommunications Cathy Hughes. Commending the $300.7B budget presented by Finance Minister Winston Jordan on Monday, Minister Hughes indicated its allocation of $ B to the technological development of Guyanese students and adults.

In a media release on Tuesday, she said that the budget would ensure that Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) and those in the hinterland are included now more than ever, while the Ministries of Education and Public Telecommunications will have a closer bond.
Regarding the latter, Hughes noted that she is pleased with the sum allotted to develop this bond as some of the monies will be spent to introduce robotics in the curricula of primary and secondary schools.

Finance Minister Winston Jordan said in his presentation on Monday: “We will expand the SMART classrooms programme; and we will be looking at Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Animation and IT programmes that have not been attempted in the past.”
He added that smart classrooms will be introduced throughout the country, with the Santa Rosa and Paramakatoi Secondary Schools being among the priority schools in 2019. “The budget for 2019 has encapsulated many of the ministry’s programmes, some of which are already underway,” Minister Hughes said.

She pointed out that, already, through the Telecommunications Ministry some 1,400 persons have received training through a wide variety of programmes.
With the ministry’s main aim of providing 21st-century opportunities, 175 primary schools,108 secondary schools, 34 tertiary institutions including UG and the Guyana School of Agriculture; nine residential schools and residential homes have already been connected with enhanced ICT facilities to allow young people to develop specialised skills — free of charge.

As recent as October 2018, the Kato and Orealla Secondary Schools were connected to the national network.
In Budget 2019, provisions have been made for new Internet ICT hubs in several hinterland villages to connect these communities to the network at a cost of $375M. The initiative will benefit about 11,390 residents who reside in Phillipi in Region Eight; Rewa, Surama and Toka in Region Nine; and Kimbia and Wiruni in Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice, Region 10.

On Monday Jordan had stated: “Transformation of the ICT sector will be accelerated in 2019 with the proposed national broadband infrastructure.”
Regarding PWDs, the Telecommunications Ministry commended the budget’s catering for proposed tax rebates on smart cellphones with built-in apps and accessibility features for persons with visual or hearing challenges.
“We have found that many persons with disabilities cannot afford to purchase these smart phones, so we have devised a scheme that will lessen the cost, to their benefit,” Minister Hughes explained.

In the medium to long term, the ministry affirmed that the government will continue to connect the general public and government agencies to the worldwide web, as it expands e-government networks and services.
Minister Hughes expresses “immense pleasure” that the ministry’s initiatives have received the financial support needed to stimulate innovation among the highly talented population even as she noted Guyana’s high potential for local and foreign investments in the sector.