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Contact:
Virnet St. Omer-Fontenelle
 Monday, January 05, 2004 – St. Lucia is leading other Caribbean islands
in E-Government readiness and is preparing to host a top meeting on the subject
later this month.
E-Government is a concept aimed at encouraging governments to use less ink and
paper and more electronic information technology in their day-to-day affairs.
At the just concluded World Summit on the Information Society held in Geneva,
Switzerland in December 2003, St. Lucia out-ranked the rest of the Caribbean
placing first ahead of the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and the Bahamas, Trinidad
& Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Cuba, Antigua & Barbuda, Grenada and
St. Vincent & The Grenadines in that order.
Deputy Director of Public Sector Reform in the office of the Prime Minister Dr.
Cletus Bertin says the ranking was “based on a global study by the United
Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.”
He says the indicators used in the ranking “take into account the progress made
as a result of the liberalization of telecommunications, especially the wide use
and availability of cell phones.”
According to Dr. Bertin, with some 50 percent of the population having access to
cell phones and other forms of modern telecommunications, the ability of persons
to use the technology as well as the kind of infrastructure that exists here all
contributed to the island’s ranked readiness for e-government.”
He says the island’s cell phone penetration was significant to the ranking, “as
it indicates we are a society that is receptive to and can be ready for the
transition to e-government.”
According to Dr. Bertin, “besides the enabling environment, government has
created to foster access to and use of the latest information technology,
government has also taken steps to ensure e-government becomes a major plank in
its efforts to reform the Public Service.”
To this end, Dr. Bertin was appointed to his new post and given special
responsibility for E- Government. Since his appointment last year Dr. Bertin,
has represented St. Lucia at several Information Technology conferences abroad
including a two week seminar in China and Washington prior to the Geneva
conference where St. Lucia was declared a leader in E-Government readiness in
the Caribbean.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bertin says that as a follow-up to St. Lucia’s top ranking in
e-government readiness, St. Lucia will later this month host the 5th Ministerial
Consultation and High Level Workshop on E-Government. This meeting will take
place in Castries on January 20 and 21, 2004 and will bring together some of the
top government officials from around the world involved in E-government.
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