E-government strategy for St.Vincent & The Grenadines

4.  Telecommunications Infrastructure and Planning:  While teledensity has made tremendous advances due to Telecom liberalisation. The cost of bandwidth, both for domestic and international connectivity is still overly expensive; thereby limiting the
connectivity available and increasing Web lag times. 

5.  Financial Services and Infrastructure:  Only 4 Banks issue credit cards. Statistical data on the number of credit cards issued is currently not available. One Bank offers a local Debit Card. There are no International Debit Cards offered, thus limiting the primary method of payment on the Internet to this small market segment.  Availability of banking and capital market information is extremely limited, thereby limiting a very popular part of Web activity. The financial institutions perception of the value-added service received from the use of the Internet is fixed on low-cost additions limited to internal traditional transactions such as wire transfers and the like, to the potential benefit perceived from the network connection.

In general, there have been few attempts from the business sector to embark on e-commerce ventures, the primary reason for which is simply the lack of corporate awareness of the conceivable business advantage of e-commerce. It may be worth mentioning that this situation is about to change, because some banks are moving toward online banking.

6.  Legal System:  On a global level, many businesses and consumers are still wary of conducting extensive business in cyberspace because of the lack of a predictable legal environment to govern transactions, which results in concerns about contract enforcement, intellectual property protection, liability, jurisdiction, privacy, and security. On a national level, there is an applicability of existing statutes by an overburdened and unfamiliar judiciary.

7.  Government Role:  While championing IT and Internet expansion, failure of the public sector to actively embrace e-commerce would deprive the effort of a strategic champion. There needs to be more harmony and cooperation in the various public and private sectors. E- Government strategies would lead to tremendous liberation of efforts to develop e-commerce in the country. It is important to point out that a lack of national support (including financial support) for e-commerce will result in damage from international e-commerce to national economies, including St. Vincent.

Complicated and unclear business rules form one of the most critical barriers toward e-commerce, one that exists in many developing countries. Vital components of the e-commerce business cycle (e.g., logistics and customs) are deeply embedded in the government's operations; the information systems for these operations are manual, bureaucratic, and paper-dependent. The government should be encouraged to recognize, accept, and facilitate electronic communications (contracts, notarized documents, etc.). Coherence, transparency, coordination, and avoidance of duplication should be the government's guiding principles in this endeavor.

8.  Pricing:  As discussed in the Internet Activity section, the costs associated with Internet access and e-commerce business costs are high, particularly, lacking a sizeable marketshare.

9. Social and Psychological Drawbacks:  Cultural issues in both the public and commercial sectors.

Resistance to change: Resistance to change is one of the most typical drawbacks in any attempts to bring about technological change, and e-commerce is no exception. Decision-makers are used to doing business in a certain way and they do not want to change. "Our system is working, so why change it?" is their attitude, which represents a significant hurdle in itself.

Trust: The lack of trust in electronic means of payment continues to be a worldwide deterrent to e-commerce. However, St. Vincent is lagging behind in this issue of a lack of e-commerce infrastructure and trust, which is still a strong deterrent to making payments over the Internet.

Territorial behavior: Top-level decision-makers are exerting "territorial behavior," meaning that they want to have control over their business territory. They believe that they would be losing control over the company assets if they were to engage in e-commerce. One manager required all company employees to use one e-mail account to which he held the password, so that he could check all incoming mail. We shall not dwell on the other managerial and organizational issues of many organizations' management systems; but this territorial way of thinking forms a general philosophy to which many executive decision-makers subscribe.

Generation gap:The adoption of the usage of e-mail has been on the increase, however many business persons and public sector individuals do not use e-mail for the simple reason that they were not raised in the information age. IT is not a part of their daily routine. This fact is coupled with their mindset of reluctance to invest in IT and their failure to perceive the added value. However, middle-aged managers who are currently in middle management and will rise to top-level management in the next decade are convinced of the benefits of IT and are technologically adept. Therefore, we can be hopeful that the future decision-makers of the country will engage in IT ventures.

III.BENEFITS OF E-GOVERNMENT B2G INITATIVE

1. Transparency: Clear and coherent policy development and implementation by governments is required to create the necessary environment for enabling e-commerce thereby increasing private sector confidence in the system.
2. Partnership: Partnering between (a) the private and public sectors, (b) national and international organizations, and (c) regions are major challenges in the emerging information gap.
3. Coordination: Ministries and government entities should collaborate and join forces in a cooperative environment, with involvement by nongovernmental organizations and the private sector.
4. Government role: E-commerce, should grow under a solid e-commerce infrastructure in a predictable legal and consumer-protected environment that is driven by markets and is not burdened with extensive bureaucracy, regulation, taxation, or censorship.
5. Business to Government (B2G) E-government Initiative will allow for faster business interaction, reduction of costs for both the private and the public sector and the elimination of barriers.

IV. DEVELOPMENT PHASES FOR THE G2B INITIATIVE

The St. Vincent & the Grenadines G2B E-Government Strategy will follow all 4 phases.

1. E-Publishing
2. E-Interaction
3. E-Transaction
4. E-Transformation

V. OBJECTIVES: 

There will be thirteen priority focus objectives for the E-Government Strategy:

1. Development of G2B portal:

In order to achieve this entrepreneurial thinking and to develop and nurture a culture of enterprise in St. Vincent, information must be made accessible to the general public as well as the existing business sector. Training & Education, Access to information for research purposes and Development are the keys to changing attitudes. This will take form of a single web site (portal) to give access to government information within the Partnership area that can be tailored to meet the branding needs of the different Partners. It will also give access to partner area and will provide intelligent links to other sources of information, e.g. professional bodies, Civil Society, Community Groups and other local service providers.

The goals of the G2B portal are to:

• Provide one-stop access to business related information
• Reduce burdens on business, by enabling online tax filing, online business registrations, trader’s license filing, central planning filing, Health and Environment filing and other public sector forms,
• International Trade Process Streamlining- Makes it easy for Medium Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to obtain the information and documents needed to conduct business abroad.
• Reduce the time to fill out export forms and locate information
• Reduce time for businesses to file and comply with regulations
• Enable digital communication using the language of e-business which will

improve the way services and information are provided to local business by further developing and streamlining the ICT infrastructure and program functionality which currently house and disseminate this information.

• Enable existing and future SMEs to adopt e-business processes
• Facilitate local e-procurement strategies by publicizing Requests for Proposals and encouraging contractors to respond online.
• Increase the ability for citizens and businesses to find, view, and comment on the constitution reform
• Provide access to online training and seminars in Business Management Courses, Entrepreneurial Development, Access to finance, Marketing , e-business & e-commerce for existing and potential  SMEs
• Improve Access to Technical Assistance Information in various subsectors.
• Improve Access to National and Regional legislation that would affect businesses.
• Facilitate Trade through the provision of an e-marketplace where buyers and sellers can meet and sell their products. 
• Provide a single point of access to business loan availabilities to existing and potential businesses.
• Provide better access to information on Govt. Benefits and Incentives to SMEs
• Provide access to information and e-documents from Customs and excise department as well as Interactivity where business can submit proforma invoices to get Custom Duty quotes.
• Improve access to statistical information to facilitate market research.
• Facilitate interaction between employment schemes through the creation of an e-job Marketplace to facilitate online resume submittance and resume search for both Job Seekers, and Employers.
• Improve access to Labor Information.
• Facilitate e-payment of contributions by Employers to the National Insurance Service (NIS)
• Facilitate the e-payment of business taxes to Treasury.
• Provide an opportunity for Data Mining, for business data collection, and to facilitate the decision making process for future portal design as well as services.

2. Legislation

Provide a legal framework to facilitate doing business in the new economic environment. The aim should be to create a "predictable" legal duty free environment and economic safeguards through enforcement of copyright, intellectual property and security for e-commerce transactions in an effort to strengthen the position of St. Vincent & the Grenadines companies and to protect data.

3. Controlling the Digital Divide by acting as a Networking Hub:

1. Use of government  data lines and other IT infrastructure supplemented by wireless technology to deliver broadband services to Community/Public Access Points to support and encourage SMEs in rural areas. A pilot will be developed in Rural Areas to deliver cost effective commercial broadband Internet services. Also, public access points to this network would be made available to libraries and other resource centers, schools, post offices buildings.  Test the usefulness of Community/Public Access Points to SME’s and citizens by piloting them in different locations, particularly where prior exposure to this type of facility is limited.

2. The development of a business plan, aimed at accelerating broadband build and take-up across St. Vincent & the Grenadines. Identify means of demonstrating the benefits of broadband to target audiences in St. Vincent & the Grenadines. It will deliver innovative demonstrators or extend the reach of tried and tested demonstrators to untapped audiences. Working across and with all public sector and private sector agencies, seeking to aggregate requirements in network developments.

4. E-commerce Application Infrastructure: For the St. Vincent & the Grenadines to benefit fully from electronic commerce, systems will have to be made global in order to overcome deterrents and impediments of electronic commerce in light of globalization. The role of the government is to - facilitate or contract a neutral intermediary to influence all financial institutions to upgrade their present systems and security software to create an enabling environment for e-commerce, i-commerce and m-commerce transactions through the use of services such as Tele-banking, Online banking (use of customer automated wire transfers, e-checks, credit cards and debit cards), POS facilities, automated bank draft and clearing house facilities.

The implementation of Smart Card Technology to facilitate the issuance of International debit cards and other smart cards as alternatives to Credit Cards should be enforced in order to facilitate e-transaction for SMEs. Also the upgrade of existing Credit Card technology to provide a more globally accepted credit card should be encouraged.

5. Financial service infrastructure: A general policy that enables financial services, furthers the credit system, and endorses standards for financial transactions should be adopted to furnish the appropriate environment for e-commerce. The possibility of establishing a ECA must be investigated and endorsed.

6. Education and Training:

• Promotion and awareness: Encourage and facilitate businessmen associations, key private sector players, chambers of commerce, investors associations, the Small Business Associations, and trade points to "educate, lobby, coordinate, and motivate" the society to embark on e-business and e-commerce. Also its important to educate the public sector in e-government.
• Human resource and skills development: It is detrimental to the Vincentian society that professionals are trained and brought to speed regarding e-commerce in their respective fields of practice (lawyers, judges, tax and custom authorities, etc.). The private sector and governments must work together to create new human resources policies that better prepare students and workers to meet the challenges of the emerging digital economy. Public sector must also upgrade their ICT skills.

7. Liberalization of telecommunications infrastructure development: Telecommunications is considered a "strategic investment" for maintaining and developing a competitive advantage in both local and international markets; it is a key element in economic development strategy. The private sector should be encouraged to invest in the upgrade of local telecommunications infrastructure and value-added services especially in Broadband services in urban and rural areas. This would produce a side effect of building expertise and facilitating employment.

8. National endorsement: More public endorsement of e-commerce is needed on the highest government levels because this would induce the proper "line of control" over all ministries (not just the Ministry of Telecommunications, Science, Technology and Industry). There is a need for general IT policy reform and, more specifically, automation of workflow systems within the government (e.g., logistics, customs, and taxes). There is also a need for an e-commerce task force consisting of both government and private sector bodies (across the ministries, businessmen associations, etc.).

9. Regional strategy: Not enough regional planning, initiative, framework, or coordination has taken place in terms of the Internet and e-commerce, whether in the areas of research and development, Web sites, or increasing awareness at the organizational or regulatory level. The need for a regional strategy is important because it would encourage countries within the region to abide by specific initiatives, plans, standards, and so forth especially with the Regionalism.

10. Content: The use of foreign language content (such as Spanish and French) on the Internet must be encouraged to attract local and Regional customers to use the Internet in general and for e-commerce purposes. Crossbreeding and intercultural operations need to be stimulated.

11. International negotiations and agreements: Aggressive participation in the formulation process of these agreements is needed instead of having to wait for these agreements to crystallize and then being forced to accept them as they are.

12. Monetary issues: The government needs to investigate means of reducing the general and specific costs related to IT and e-commerce, in addition to investigating sources for funding of projects related to e-commerce.

13. Pragmatic projects: There is a need to create a sectoral user base to address the needs of the community to attract industries to venture into e-business and e-commerce. The need for centers of excellence, aid centers for SMEs, and resource centers (compromise solutions for e-commerce in rural and remote areas) should be addressed. The Public Sector ministerial ICT user base should be addressed through in-house projects such as the proposed Government Intranet.

VI. BACKGROUND RESOURCES

St. Vincent & the Grenadines Website

World Bank Administrative and Civil Reform Report on St. Vincent & the Grenadines

 

St. Vincent and the Grenadines: ICT Assessment 11-15 March 2002

Carana

Americas Telecommunications Indicators 2000, ITU, Geneva, April 2000.

Digital Economy 2000, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, June 2000. .

.Direction of Traffic 1999 – Trading Telecom Minutes, International Telecommunications Union,

Geneva, October 10, 1999.

FATF Annual Report for 2001-2002 released, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development,

 .

From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity: A Global Call to Action, July 22, 2000,

.

Business Owners Toolkit

Business Resource Center

Center for Adanvement of Small Business

E-commerce.About.com

E-lab

Let’s Talk Business

Microsoft bCentral

Yahoo! Small Business

eMarketer News

  (eBanking Report)

Small Business Computing/Home Office Computing

Research And Markets

E-Government

Resources