Dear Editor,

The Government of Jamaica has been unhurried in taking advantage of information and communication technology (ICT) to renovate and streamline the public sector, and in adopting a perspective that ICT governance is as significant to national infrastructure as energy, water and roads.

Related projects are delayed, for example, the ICT Road Map speaks to creating a secure network linking all MDAs and providing data and voice services (p 34). However, its implementation deadline of March 2014 has not been met.

Jamaica has no sufficiently rigorous ICT governance plan in place. It is no surprise that according to UN E-Government Survey, 2014, we are behind Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Dominican Republic.

There are challenges, as Government will have to improve ICT infrastructure and work on policy issues and legislation, but improving IT governance structure will have many benefits which will improve the quality of service delivery to businesses and customers and increase GOJ’s revenue collection with improved transparency and accountability.

Current initiatives like the development of Jamaica as a logistics hub will also benefit from the standards and policies of a robust ICT governance framework. As a student of ICT, I would like to know if our Government is working on an all-inclusive, clearly defined ICT Governance framework, where key performance indicators of each initiative are aligned?

Tashfeen Ahmad

Kingston

mrtashfeen@hotmail.com