My belief is that to have no wants is divine
Socrates (Xenophone, Memorabilia)
It is bad enough that Jamaica has a technology crisis as re-echoed in the article “
Technology Crisis”, published Monday April 18, 2011 by Livern Barrett, Gleaner Writer,
The Jamaica Gleaner.
Simon Crosskil- this is DEFINITELY NO a storm in a teacup; it is a very real problem, a Jamaica lacks any IT or even Telecoms or Engineering entrepreneurial base whatsoever, as start-ups, Silicon Valley Style, cannot find venture capital funding to even get off the ground.
I am a former Telecoms Technician, Level 2 from C&W (2001 to 2004) with a background in Mobile and Generator Maintenance (Basic). Why on God’s green earth would I want to be a manager when my Engineering and Telecoms Field pay way more at the SAME level – BOTH Locally and Abroad?
We are number seventy three (73) on the World Economic Forum’s Networked Readiness Index (NRI), twenty eight (28) flight of stairs tumble down the staircase from our previous low of forty five (45) back in 2006-2007.
In this article I posited the idea of Broadband as Right on the same level as that of Life, Liberty and Freedom of Speech or even the right to potable Water and Sanitation, guaranteed under the UNCHR (United Nation Charter for Human Rights).
As in Finland!
This NRI is seated snug within thick 100 + page Report called the Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011 which was published by the World Economic Forum (WEO) and co-authored by Thierry Geiger. In summary, we are screwed.
Coupled with the results from the Dr. Hopeton Dunn-led Caribbean ICT Indicators and Broadband Survey of two thousand two hundred (2200) households by the Mona School of Business (MSB) at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, and you realize, whether the information from the WEO is dated or not, the UWI study comes to the same conclusions, expressed in more detail:
- 15.6% of households have Internet access
- 38 % of individuals use the Internet once per day
- 24% have home PC
- Average users range in age from fifteen to thirty four (15 to 34)
Reasons for the Lack of Internet Access?:
- 32.4% said Laptops and PC’s are too expensive
- 23.9% are just not interested (shocking!!)
- 15.2% said Internet Service cost was too high
- 10.4% cited lack of Internet access in their Area
- 8.4% mentioned they did not know how to use computer
Online Activity:
- 71.7% used it for Social Networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter
- 65.4% used the Internet for Education purposes
My experiences from my Summers in 1999 and 2000 working at Red Strip with the famous Grace Silvera, who back then was just Brand Manager, is that PR and Marketing people, aside from being false and not wearing underwear, tend to be image conscious.
Thus, they are usually not as they appear before you, even on television and may in fact be merely scripted presenters of information presented to them by researchers not people who actually work in IT, Telecoms and Engineering Fields.
Carlette Deleon presentation on Radio reduces IT to fashionable “bling”, furniture to have to impress friends and give to children as Christmas gifts.
Whether or not they have money (I bet JA$10 they are BOTH loaded!) the image is already being sold on television: to own a PC, you must sound educated and have an Apple iPad. Good for sales of the high end computing devices – and thus leaving many out of the loop thinking that computing is not affordable.
Even Dean McClarty of
Watt’s New Ltd, host of the TechTutorial, makes you realize that these gadgets are out of your reach unless you have job making at least JA$1.2 million per year before tax.
I am sooo inclined to buy these expensive play toys!!
What of discussions about Open Source Projects? Robotics Design? Small scale Foundry for IC chip manufacture?
Nuclear Power in Jamaica (my favourite discussion topic by the way)?
Worse than this perception, is that Jamaicans may actually view computers as only being good for just burning DVD and CD’s of music and videos.
Developing love of Gadgetry helps, I agree, which I guess is the point of these shows and online shows such as
CNET News.
But when this love becomes talking point for fashion and the persons speaking about said gadgetry does not engage the listeners in meaningful ways that the Technology can empower and created opportunities for entrepreneurship, then IT, Telecoms and Engineering has lost is savour.
That and Audia Granston, my deceased SDA Princess, never liked
Carlette Deleon aka the Pet Tales Chick aka “Dilly” of
Television Jamaica, calling her
“uptown poodle”. Then again, Audia was jealous of even my female co-workers, as when I was working at Telecom Provider
CLARO, she oft called me to know my whereabouts.
Nice to have cooked food, so I love the attention and Praises to God Sermon and Lollipop Songs at late night hours, so I had no complaints, being as physically and sexually aggressive females tend to gravitate towards me anyway.
Its worse when the Senator Daryl Vaz, Minister of Information and Telecoms, who was apparently very visible to even have his picture snapped with the CEO and President of FLOW Michele “Dallas” English and
Managing Director of LIME, Garry Sinclair was unavailable for comment about the situation when contacted by the Media, inclusive of The Jamaica Gleaner.
Shocking news and now shocking reaction from the Minister!
This as some answers should be forthcoming from the Minister as to what he plans to do. Aside from photo-ops to win the upcoming General Election with a Project that will only come to fruition five (5) years into the future.
Apparently Senator Daryl Vaz, Minister of Information and Telecoms has been caught napping since Thursday April 7th 2011AD, the day after the Media published the little-known UAFCL (Universal Access Fund Company Limited) funding of the project.
This as the bad news came in the following week when the news broke in
The Jamaica Observer on Wednesday April 13
th 2011 as stated in the slew of articles below:
- “VIDEO: Action needed to raise Jamaica’s Internet access”, published Friday, April 15, 2011 by Ross Sheil, Online Project Manager, The Jamaica Observer
- “Jamaica’s Technology Decline”, published Wednesday, April 13, 2011, The Jamaica Observer
- “38% of Jamaicans now Daily Internet Users”, published Thursday, April 14, 2011, The Jamaica Observer
What Will Senator Daryl Vaz, Minister of Information and Telecoms do, seeing as ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) is really deciding factor when FDI (Foreign Direct Investors) chose to invest in country?
His silence on the issue is deafening as this article is sent of to the published, who hopefully will forgive my misspelled prose and publish this article which is of utmost importance to Jamaica’s Long term push towards Vision 2030.
A culture of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Venture Capitalism needs to be created in Jamaica to foster the development of our own IT, Telecom and Engineering fields in Jamaica
Especially in a country that does not encourage innovation and engineering culture, which is one of “Bragging rights”!!
Visit and read my articles at Geezam.com, The Leading Caribbean Commentary on Technology in North America and how it will affect Jamaica: