An OECS statement said that Dominica, Grenada and St. Lucia have each received soft loan financing equivalent to US2.4 million dollars from the International Development Association (IDA), a special facility of the World Bank.
The Washington-based financial institution is in negotiations with St. Vincent and the Grenadines that has indicated a willingness to be part of the project.
St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda, two non-IDA countries, may in the future be eligible for World Bank financing, but are likely to participate initially on the basis on donor grants that are yet to be negotiated.
The other OECS members - Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and Montserrat- are considering the opportunities for participation in the project under similar terms.
“The EGRIP project emerged from an increasingly strong articulated political will and determination for sub-regional cooperation, and in particular the realization that cooperation in the area of e-government can produce important outcomes,” said OECS Director of Economic Affairs Randy Cato.
“These include reduction in the cost of doing business, improvements in public sector efficiency, transparency and accountability; and greater sub-regional harmonization and integration. This project will therefore contribute to the current thrust towards the attainment of an OECS Economic Union.”
He said by using a regional approach to promote integration, competitiveness, public sector efficiency and transparency, the OECS EGRIP will offer the countries in the region the benefits of economies of scale and technical synergies associated with the use of common policies and technologies for the delivery of government services to business entities, communities and private citizens in the OECS.
The project is structured in two phases and will run over a four year period.
The first phase focuses on cross-sectoral e-government issues and on specific applications in the public finance area. There will also be an e-government in health pilot project.
The second phase is expected to deepen the assistance provided under phase one, while expanding the programme to cover other sectors, in particular tourism, agriculture, health and education, among others that may emerge during the early stages of implementation of phase one.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): CMC
Quelle/Source: BVI News, 12.08.2009
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