IN his 2024 budget presentation on Monday, Finance Minister Colm Imbert asserted that digital transformation remains one of the government's top priorities.
Describing it as a "critical sector," he thanked the Government of India for a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to advance digital transformation in TT, signed in August.
India's Ministry of Electronics and IT said it would help with capacity-building and training programmes, among other things.
"This collaboration will create a robust ecosystem of startups, developers and system integrators, driving next-generation innovation and enhancing inclusive finance," Imbert said.
In 2022, the UN Development Programme did a digital-readiness assessment for TT, which showed the country was at stage three of five, and classed as a country that is systematically applying digital tools and approaches.
Stage one is lacking the basic foundation for digital transformation, and stage two is advancing in select areas without co-ordinated strategy.
TT now has stage four (clear strengths in digital transformation and foundational elements in place) and stage five (advancing in all areas based on an integrated system) left to achieve.
So what’s next?
The 2024 Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP), presented along with the budget, says the improvement of IT infrastructure in the public service will continue, with an allocation of $303.4 million "for the implementation of the government's digitisation programme."
It said for fiscal 2024, the ministry will focus on creating the digital government programme, a digital economy and a digital society.
The document says the ministry hopes to achieve several things, including a fully digital public service, e-identity for citizens, a financial system with fintech-enabled solutions and an e-commerce sector that adapts quickly to changes in the global market.
A fintech platform is set to be created, as well as enabling the online payment of taxes.
In addition, from January 2024-December 2025, there will be a cybersecurity investment tax allowance of up to $500,000 for companies that invest in cybersecurity software and network-security monitoring equipment.
In education, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said Wi-Fi access in schools will be expanded, and the e-book platform will continue "transforming teaching with more interactive, learner-centres approaches" and increasing the number of people using the e-testing system.
The Government will also continue distributing laptops to school students, announcing a further 2,400 fit-for-purpose laptops for students and selected staff at 94 secondary schools.
There are also plans for the continued digitisation of health records, postal services and police records, among other things.
Jayme Hoyte, senior vice president of business development at SmartTerm, told Business Day the 2024 budget showed “a commendable commitment to digital transformation…signalling a progressive leap into the digital age.
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