Basseterre, St. Kitts (SKNIS) — A cheque of over EC$500,000 from the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) for the renovation of the National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Centre was handed over to the Ministry of Communications during the launch of the ICT refurbishment project held at the Ocean Terrace Inn (OTI) Conference Room on Friday, October 9th.
“After much discussion with several key stakeholders and assessments by specialist engineers, I am pleased that a feasible course of action was derived at to restore and enhance the operations of this critical national asset,” said Honourable Vincent Byron, Minister of Communications.
He stated that it was his great pleasure to participate in the launch of the National ICT Centre Renovation Project, in conjunction with the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Post, Urban Development and Transport, the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF).
Minister Byron stated the Government’s stance concerning ICT.
“The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis continues to support investments in ICTs in an effort to strengthen our sustainable development capabilities and to assist in policy and regulatory development to ensure that our national ICT innovation agenda continues to produce positive outcomes and impacts for our citizens,” he said.
The Communication Minister said that it is important that the effort to restore the operations of National ICT Centre should not only be seen as just an embracing of information and communication technology for development, but as the Government’s unwavering quest to strengthen the ICT sector as well as restore a longstanding symbol of friendship between the Government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and St. Kitts and Nevis.
His Excellency George Gow Wei Chiou, Taiwan’s Resident Ambassador to St. Kitts and Nevis, said the ICT Centre will again become the nurturing ground for the human capacity empowerment and innovation in St. Kitts and Nevis.
“Information related workshops and international forums can once again be hosted by the ICT center,” said His Excellency Chiou, adding that this could effectively promote St. Kitts and Nevis as the leader in the fields of entrepreneurship and information and communication technology in the Caribbean region.
Ambassador Chiou said the ICT Centre was designed as a cooperative centre that provided training and application which ensured that e-Government can be well implemented. It served as a data center for core government applications and web portals, a business incubator facility and a training and certification facility for a variety of ICT certifications.
In addition to the cheque donated by the Republic of China (Taiwan), Ian Patches Liburd, Minister of Public Infrastructure, said that the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis also contributed over EC$500,000, making it a total of over EC$1 million to be used for the renovation of the ICT Centre.