KNOWLEDGE is power. We live in a knowledge society, one in which access to information is vital for upward mobility, both at the individual and at the societal level. In fact, development practitioners now speak about the digital society, one defined as a modern progressive society that is created as a result of the adoption and integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) at home, work, education and recreation and supported by advanced communications and wireless-connectivity systems and solutions.

Such is the pace at which the developments are taking place that there is now reference to the concept of algorithmic governance which speaks to a complex computer-based system of governance which is rules-based and which could potentially enhance the efficiency and efficacy of government services by way of rationalising bureaucratic decision-making by targeting information and interventions to precise profiles or by choosing the best available policy options.

All of this may sound a bit distant and far-fetched, but it cannot be ruled out as society evolves more and more into a knowledge-based and digital society. As a matter of fact, several governments are already making use of electronic forms of governance in the delivery of social goods and services. The PPP/C administration has already commenced the process of providing on-line scholarships to students at the post-secondary level under the GOAL programme. Over 6,000 scholarships were awarded to persons of all ages and backgrounds from all the 10 regions of Guyana in keeping with a commitment made by President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali to democratise access to tertiary education to the Guyanese people, in particular young people. Over 180 disciplines are being offered from over 15 internationally recognised universities, including the University of Guyana.

And in another major development to bridge the digital divide in Guyana, the PPP/C administration has commenced the installation of 1,000 free Internet- access hubs in several regions of Guyana. Dubbed the ‘1000 Hubs Project,’ the initiative, which is a collaborative effort between the Industry and the Innovation Unit at the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM)  and the National Data Management Authority (NDMA), will see thousands of Guyanese benefitting from free Wi-Fi. According to a release from the OPM, the hubs will be outfitted with 1,000 Internet boxes presented to the government by the Chinese multinational technology corporation, Huawei, which will go a far way in bridging the digital divide in the country.

These are indeed forward-looking ideas on the part of the PPP/C administration and will benefit those Guyanese who live in rural and hinterland communities where there are hardly any service providers and, in the few cases where they could be found, the costs for Internet services are prohibitive. With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw the disruption of classroom teaching for nearly two years, students without Internet access were at a clear disadvantage. These new ICT hubs will therefore ensure greater accessibility, especially to disadvantaged groups and are therefore integral components of President Ali’s vision to democratise access to quality education to all the children, regardless of social class or geographic location.

Technology, it has to be said, is diffusing at an extraordinary pace and it is now possible for people in some of the remotest corners of the world to access Internet services, provided of course that the requisite IT infrastructure is in place. And this is exactly what the PPP/C administration is doing in the establishment of ICT hubs in various parts of the country. This is indeed commendable and visionary. There is no reason why developing countries have to be left behind in terms of information and communication. We are living today in a society where one’s ability to manage information is critical to social mobility. In that context, the ability to access, interpret and transmit information will be a deciding factor in terms of economic and social advancement, both at the individual and national level.

President Dr Irfaan Ali has said that Guyana will continue to invest heavily in the ICT sector, so that Guyana could be formally promoted on the digital stage. According to the President, ICT is an important part of Guyana’s competitive strategy that will allow the country to participate as an effective player on the global market.

“What we are now seeing is not only greater connectivity. For the first time we have fibre going to Region Six, fibre going to Region Two fibre going to Region10. One company, the Prime Minister told me … is planning upgrades and investment up to US$32 million. Those are the types of investment that is going to create a strong competitive environment for us to move towards a digital mode that is critical for the survival of all these businesses.”

The move in the direction of e-governance is no longer an option but a national imperative. The Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) as envisaged by the PPP/C administration embraces numerous sections regarding access to information such as digitising information systems, updating the country’s access to information law, building local awareness and understanding of issues such as energy efficiency through web-based tools, developing modern e-governance systems and performing a comprehensive stocktaking of Guyana’s transparency and accountability architecture with a view to modelling information-sharing among departmens and agencies. Indeed, many of the access-to-information elements of the strategy focus on transparency and accountability measures. These include transparency and access to the extractive and petroleum sectors and transparent management of oil revenues, among others.