The Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) is proposing that the region take a more unified approach to the purchase and implementation of information and communication technology (ICT).
According to business development and operations manager Rodney Taylor, CTU member states should form a single buying bloc which would allow the region to better negotiate pricing, access financing, and create economies of scale.
Speaking at The Crane Resort and Residences last Thursday during a Ministerial Strategic Seminar hosted by the CTU in association with the Inter-American Committee Against Terrorism, he said a number of ICT suppliers had been invited to Barbados to discuss the proposed framework.
“Part of the framework would allow them to extend their financing facilities to member states so that when they are implementing projects and the capital is not readily available, they can use the financing facility of some of these private sector companies.
“As much as there is support from development agencies like the European Union and the World Bank, we cannot only rely on donor funding. We’ve basically decided to take a more businesslike approach with respect to how we fund these initiatives going forward,” Taylor said.
He said the proposal was in keeping with the CTU’s recommendation that regional governments implement wide area networks to support the services they want to deliver to their citizens.
He added that the framework would also require companies to return part of the revenue from ICT projects to a fund for the development of regional ICT capacity, including human resources.
This would allow member states in the region, regardless of their size, to implement improved ICT programmes.
