According to the Minister of Telecommunications and Information, Mr. Glen Phillip, “What we intend to do in the future is to provide e-Government services that will enable our citizens to really interact with Government in a number of ways.”

Mr. Phillip noted that it will allow for instant feedback, as well as increase transparency, “Persons will be able to log on to whatever Government website and see exactly what is happening in different Ministries of the Government and so this is a step forward.”

The CTU team will be undertaking a three month technical audit of the Information Technology infrastructure and during the launch of the program on Tuesday, Minister Phillip told the Government Information Service that the country stands to benefit greatly from this exercise.

Minister Phillip added that he intends to work steadfastly to fulfill his mandate of making communication more cost effective.

“As we speak, the cost for telecommunications is going up within Government. However, if you look at it from an international perspective, the cost of telecommunications is on a downward spiral and so we do not want to stay on the same track [of] spending the same amount of monies we did five years ago at this same time,” the Minister stressed.

“We know that the technology is there and the cost savings are out there and so this is an attempt to … keep abreast with technology and [to] gain cost efficiency within the telecommunication services.”

In addition, the audit will allow for an evaluation of the human resource capacity of public servants in relation to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

Bernadette Lewis, Secretary General of the CTU, explained that in carrying out the role of her agency in this project, “We are seeking to support St. Kitts and Nevis in the development of not just the ICTs infrastructure and services but this [is] also in the whole thrust to enhance competitiveness … on the global scene using information and communication technologies,” she disclosed.