Though it is acknowledged that citizens must be empowered to harness the emerging digital economy, we discuss whether those efforts are enough to truly realise a digital society


In an article published last week, a brief account was given of the several initiatives that are in the process of being implemented in the Eastern Caribbean, specifically the five countries overseen by the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL): Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada (the ECTEL Member States). Some of the initiatives that are being undertaken include:

  • A series of public service announcements geared towards consumers and covering a broad range of issues, such as spam, phishing, service contracts, to name a few
  • Legal and regulatory reform, with the recent approval of a new draft Electronic Communications Bill by the ECTEL Council of Ministers, and the preparation of six new draft Regulations covering, consumer protection, retail pricing, wholesale access, infrastructure sharing, submarine cable landing stations,and  market access
  • A study to develop a model to measure the impact of broadband on economic growth in the ECTEL Member States.
  • Several stakeholder consultations and town hall meetings to discuss the above activities and programmes.

Those initiatives, which are being driven by ECTEL, have sought to address “the needs of its Member States to harness opportunities provided by modern ICTs and their application in all facets of the national and global economies and to augment its mandate and mission as it relates to consumer empowerment” (Source:  The Voice).

ECTEL’s efforts to date are highly commendable, as they not only aim to narrow the digital divide – to ensure that as many citizens as possible in the countries they serve are equipped to participate in the emerging digital society – but also to improve the legal and regulatory framework, which has not had any significant amendment in over 15 years. However, are those efforts enough?

The role of Government

Through its powers to create policy and laws, Government plays a crucial role in ensuring that a suitable enable environment is created to encourage the behaviour and practices envisaged. However, it must also be emphasised that as an entity with which every citizen and every business must interact, Government also has the ability to influence the processes and systems adopted across a society, and consequently organisational behaviour, efficiency and effectiveness.

It is thus disconcerting when Caribbean Governments are perceived as hindering the pace of take-up of technology when they have not implemented critical policies and laws, and neither have they adopted key systems and practices that can drive technology use and economic development. For example, in addition to the legal and regulatory reform directly needed by the telecoms sector, a sore point of contention has been, and continues to be, the extent to which the requisite systems to support e-commerce has been implemented. Across the region, it is still onerous and expensive establish merchant accounts that support e-commerce, resulting in very limited take-up among micro, small and medium businesses, which are likely to benefit the most from such systems.

The role of businesses

Thanks to Web 2.0, and with minimal skill, any individual can create content, as evident by the explosion of blogs and social networks that have occurred in the past 10 or so years. Although to varying degrees, the Caribbean tends to be well represented on most popular social networks, we are not participating to similar degree in the digital economy, and specifically not enjoying pecuniary benefits.

Traditional or formal businesses in the region still tend to have a very limited online presence, such as no website, little or no presence on social media, or very limited engagement with consumers via online channels. As a result, they are not in a position to participate in the digital economy to the extent hoped, and to create opportunities for economic growth and job creation in the countries they are based.

Parting thoughts

The responsibility to create digital societies in the Eastern Caribbean ought not to be driven by ECTEL alone. The governments of the ECTEL countries should not only support those efforts, but should also be proactive in driving other changes and initiatives that will bolster those initiatives, along with the longer term national goals and vision that have been expressed. Having said this, that posture ought to adopted by governments across the region, as they also must lead in the their countries transition to digital societies, and to nurture the environment in which not only their citizens, but also the public and private sectors, can thrive.

 

Image credit:  imagerymajestic (FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

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