AS the modernisation process in Guyana picks up momentum, the need to have the right skills-set to advance the process becomes all the more necessary. This fact was emphasised by President, Dr Irfaan Ali very early in the life of the new PPP/C Administration.

At the swearing-in ceremony of the new PPP/C Cabinet on August 2020, President Ali spoke of the importance of having the requisite skills-set in order to effectively respond to the challenges of national development.

Governance is no easy task. It requires lots of energy and strategic thinking. Information has to be managed, processed and transmitted to facilitate policy-making and implementation.

The government has been doing an excellent job in terms of realigning the functions of government to remove duplicity and bottlenecks. which now makes it much easier to conduct business with government and to enhance efficiency levels. At the end of the day it is results that matter and the ability to deliver the goods and services in the most cost-effective manner.

Citizens have a role to play in this regard. The technology is already available to make it easier to do business between the government and the broader citizenry and, as pointed out by President Ali, the government is now in the process of developing an ICT Master Plan which would ensure that all sectors and stakeholders enhance their efficiency and productivity. In his feature address at the first meeting of Guyana’s Information and Communication (ICT) Master Plan 2030, the President said that the idea behind the plan is “to bring the entire platform on one common agenda where all the stakeholders will be part of a singular platform to enhance efficiency, to improve productivity.”

In this regard, all sectors would be integrally involved. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated what the creative use of technology can do to keep the wheels of government turning, even in some of the most challenging situations. This was especially so in the delivery of education services through the use of a variety of social media platforms. It is amazing how teachers, parents and children were able to adapt to the ICT environment, even though there were many who hitherto had little or no familiarity with the technology.

The world is evolving in the direction of electronic governance. The government must be commended for putting in place the necessary policy measures to take advantage of this new technological dispensation. And as President Ali correctly observed, this would require the transformation of the current ICT strategy. One important aspect of that strategy, he said, is the integration of that platform into the school system. This will allow students at the primary level to start basic training in coding and as they progress to secondary school they will be exposed to training in software development.

The fact is the information and communication technologies are diffusing at a rapid pace; the digital gap is closing. There is no reason why any country has to remain third world as far as the ICT technology is concerned.

The work environment has changed and with it the need to change our attitudes and approach to work and in doing business. As the President said, persons who are not of that generation will have to come to speed with the infrastructure that will be in place to govern the way business is done. “The new generation that will come, will be coming up in this ICT framework in which their knowledge and their skill-sets are different from what we were accustomed to because they will be trained to operate and work in [a] new environment, in a new Guyana in which ICT will play a catalyst for transforming the country.”

The new ICT platform will certainly help to change the culture of work in Guyana and, by so doing, help to raise efficiency and productivity levels. This will help to enhance our overall competitiveness, especially at this time when the country is experiencing unprecedented levels of economic growth and development.