Below is a letter sent to the editor by Head of Blue Caps, Clinton Urling
Dear Editor,
It is both disturbing and disappointing to read that the fibre-optic cable component of the E-Government Project has been suspended since November 2013 (GT 12/12/2014) due to faulty instillation that now requires remedial works. Why only now are we made aware of this? And who would be held accountable for the flop?
This revelation by the Project Manager, Mr. Alexi Ramotar, also comes as a huge surprise to those keenly following the progress of the project.
In January 2014, Ramotar assured that the project was experiencing minor challenges and that “we have pushed it back, the handing over to August 2014. However, we expect all the parts to be finished by April 2014, we are on track for that and the April to August period is where we will be doing a lot of testing, and optimisation of the network and so forth.
These are very standard things that happen in telecoms.” (GT 20/01/2014). Correspondingly, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds reassured in February of this year that the “E-Government Project unit aimed for an April 2014 completion date. However, this has been extended for August 2014,” and “additional delays stemmed from difficulty of procuring piles, adverse weather conditions, and the provision of electrical access to the sites.
By no stretch of the imagination can these delays be considered extensive.” GT 12/02/2014). Now we are being told that the complications surrounding the project aren’t so subtle.
That aside, this represents a severe blow to our private sector and Guyana’s global competitiveness profile. Projects and initiatives like these should ideally be left to the private sector to undertake. Digicel has for years expressed an interest in a fibre optic cable and it was only until October this year that the company was informed that its application for a submarine cable was approved.
Government should only intervene if a gap or vacuum exists. And if the government does commit to such projects, hire professionals with the requisite competence and experience to successfully execute the job.
Clinton Urling
This Clinton guy is not the Bill Clinton,?.
He knows what he’s saying if u want a job done u must hire competent people.
Let Clinton tell us who is paying his organization. Bet he’s not competent enough to say that.
LOL
Long i seh that Clinton should get the job…they man deserve it he can drain them soup bowl through the cable and we gun get fibre links all them fibre he does put in the soup…at one time i think he was running fuh mayor…then he run fuh head sum footbaals thing … ah wonder if he gun run fuh top cop and ah sure he yie deh pun the becaming a soup chef…the next he want fuh tun star boi on tv
This group is more politically align in my opinion. Indeed no one wanted the project to be put on a hold but in the interest of spending it was a wise idea to stop the project and rectify the problems.
new pnc mouth barking