Statement by Prime Minister at the 25th Annual Telecommunications Conference and Trade Exhibition of the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organizations

Address by the Honourable Patrick Manning Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago at the 25th Annual Telecommunications Conference and Trade Exhibition of the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organizations (canto) HYATT Regency Hotel

• Mr. Chairman
• The distinguished Prime Minister of Grenada, the Honourable Tilman Thomas
• Ministers of Government of Caribbean Countries
• The Chairman of the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organizations (CANTO), Mr. Ian Blanchard
• The Deputy Secretary General of the Caribbean Community, Ambassador Lolita Applewaithe
• The Chief Executive Officer of the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) and Feature Speaker, Mr. Robert Peon
• Members of CANTO
• Representatives of Regional Organizations
• Leaders and representatives of the Private Sector
• Government Officials
• Specially Invited Guests
• Members of the Media
• Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.

I welcome this opportunity to address you as the Caribbean Association of National Telecommunication Organizations (CANTO) holds its 25th Annual Telecommunications Conference and Trade Exhibition. I extend congratulations on the attainment of the Silver Jubilee of this event; and commend the partnership of the Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT) in this premier Caribbean conference of the sector. Let me also warmly welcome all visitors to our country for this meeting; and encourage you to continue enjoying your stay in the midst of your important deliberations.

You have chosen a most relevant theme for this year’s meeting. Indeed in this modern world it is almost impossible for the Caribbean to achieve the required level of progress without the fullest possible deployment of Information and Communication Technologies in social and economic development. ICT is needed in all fields, (from education to e-commerce,) to help us overcome problems associated with our size, the level of our resources and the varying states of underdevelopment which exist.

This need for ICT is accentuated by the acute competition of the modern global marketplace. It is virtually a survival of the fittest in the international arena. Newer and higher levels of efficiency and productivity are now absolutely required if we are not to be pushed further onto the margins of the mainstream. Those with a head start in the use of cyberspace have already leapt ahead, and continue to widen the gap between developed and developing. Indeed the modern term ‘digital divide’ can be used to accurately describe the ancient continuing gap between rich and the poor in and among nations.

But the technology can deliver us from this perpetuating paradigm. Its penetrative capacity can help in surmounting traditional obstacles like distance and absence of physical infrastructure. It has a proven capacity to surmount social, economic and infrastructural underdevelopment and take progress and opportunity into disadvantaged heartlands of very poor societies. Undoubtedly, with the all-inclusive nature of this technological revolution, we can considerably speed up the facilitation process we need for human and social development and for the economic activity to create the wealth to fuel our progress. This technology can certainly help us to do the catching up that we needed for so long.

The present international economic situation has made this more urgent than ever before. Notwithstanding ‘green shoots’, the prognosis is for a protracted period of slow growth. Indeed it seems highly unlikely that we will experience anytime in the near future, anything like the galloping global economy to which we had grown accustomed before the downturn.

These are tough times for the countries of the Caribbean. This slowdown is affecting external trade, investment flows and tourism, all of which are critical to the buoyancy of Caribbean economies. We are now therefore challenged to be more innovative and creative, more productive and efficient, if we are to maintain our viability. This is not possible in today’s world without the fullest possible infusion of ICT in national development. It is important for strengthening cooperation and collaboration among the countries of the Caribbean. Therefore one must applaud Canto’s “Connect the Caribbean Initiative”, intended as a partnership among key public and private stakeholders for greater connectivity in the region to the information superhighway. We need this, if we are to take advantage of our proximity to one another for the furtherance of greater economic activity among ourselves.

For example, there is not yet sufficient e-commerce activity in and among the countries of the Caribbean. Indeed in many cases, we may hardly have begun. And yet worldwide, e-commerce generates trillions of dollars worth of transactions annually, spurring business expansion, economic growth and employment generation. Clearly we must capitalize on this opportunity now before us. It is a fact that e-commerce has reduced the significant expenditure normally associated with traditional methods employed to increase market share both at home and abroad. This is another example of the advantage to developing societies of information technology. It provides the opportunity to overcome barriers, previously perceived as insurmountable and which have arisen from lack of infrastructure or financial resources. Through e-commerce, business houses in the Caribbean, should be able, with some effort, to market their products to millions of consumers in the region and beyond, and so provide the room for expansion and employment generation.

It is this penetrative capacity of the technology that has made it such a boon to small and medium enterprises all over the world. SMEs are the major generator of employment and the foundation of economic resilience in almost every industrialized nation of the world. In these challenging times, we must preserve the growth of this sector in the Caribbean. Our SMEs must expand their horizons. They must now, not only seek to maintain their share in the domestic market, but also tap into the regional and international arena. They can do it with the employment of ICT in their business operations which must now also include involvement in electronic commerce. For example, in Europe and America hundreds of thousands of people have already employed e-commerce services to start new businesses, many of them small but quite profitable. The internet has considerably reduced the cost of venturing into business. With a personal computer, a fast connection, a good website and entrepreneurial talent, it is now possible to access worldwide markets. This is the message we must spread throughout the Caribbean, in our rural and urban communities, among seasoned business folk as well as among the uninitiated so that we can make maximum use of this opportunity to transform our region.

But it will not happen without adequate preparedness of individual nations. Each country must develop and implement its own programme for facilitating the adoption of the technology by all individuals, government agencies, private corporations and social organizations within their borders. We must strive for total immersion in our nations.

We owe it to ourselves to ensure technology penetration at every level of our society. Key components of this plan must be sensitization and education, matched by policies that ensure easy accessibility with the provision of the necessary infrastructure in communities that need it. These are the first steps to the goal of every home and every business being on-line in the nations of the Caribbean.

We must recognize however that this can only be achieved incrementally because we are dealing here with generational and even cultural issues. Old habits die hard. The government of each country in the Caribbean therefore has a particular responsibility to lead the way in habituating their populations in the application of the technology in their daily lives.

The attainment of electronic government must consequently be a fundamental component of any national ICT plan. It is one of the best ways to lead the citizenry into the world of the technology. When through experience, there is recognition of the levels of efficiency and productivity that can be attained, we pave the way for increasing online transactions between state and the citizen. When citizens see how time, effort and money and stress can be saved by the new processes, they become hooked. We thereby lay the foundation for the change that we need.

Our goal must be the development of the knowledge based society and economy in our countries. Accessibility to the technology supported by spread of computer literacy is an investment that governments need to make so that citizens at all levels could take advantage of the opportunity to improve their lives. Special focus must be placed on the education system to improve learning and teaching in the classrooms of the nation. Broadband internet services are a critical part of the technological infrastructure and universal access to this important facility is a goal to which we must all be committed.

I wish to assure all present that Trinidad and Tobago is well on its way with the implementation of fastforward, its national ICT plan. This is already facilitating the development of information technologies, telecommunications and internet infrastructures in Trinidad and Tobago. National Connectivity is the main objective of this plan to connect people, communities, business, government and educational institutions through an integrated technology network and so maximize the potential of all our citizens and accelerate the development of a knowledge-based society. It is an indispensable strategy in the process now underway of transforming our country into a developed nation.

We therefore support CANTO’s objective to deepen Caribbean collaboration in information and communication technology. We are aware of the role the organization has already played towards orderly growth of the sector in our region and to formulation of policy and to the general pursuit of matters of mutual interest to its members. We look forward to its contribution as we face future challenges.

These include the complex matter of global internet governance. We should all hold strong to the agreed principle that the management of the Internet be multilateral, transparent and democratic, with the full involvement of Governments, the Private Sector, Civil Society and International Organisations. It should ensure an equitable distribution of resources, facilitate access for all and ensure a stable and secure functioning of the Internet. We in the Caribbean must continue to evolve a working definition of Internet Governance and clarify the public policy issues that are relevant to it. We need an appropriate model for the Caribbean environment which takes into account the roles and rights of the various stakeholders.

CANTO can help here, along with all other regional institutions. The fact that this organization has grown during the past twenty five years from nine members in nine countries to one hundred and thirteen in thirty-two countries is abundant proof of its relevance and the part it has been playing in the growth of the sector in our region. We therefore salute the organization and encourage its continued contribution to modern Caribbean development. We wish this Silver Jubilee Annual Conference and Trade Exhibition every success.

Thank you, Ladies and Gentlemen. Best wishes to all.