Residents of Jacklow Village in the Lower Pomeroon will have internet access in and around their community before the end of September 2019. This will even see the primary school there being connected and residents will be able to access e-government services for the first time via satellite.
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Giving this assurance to residents was Public Telecommunications Minister Cathy Hughes during a community meeting at the Jacklow Primary School on Sunday, July 28. According to the schedule drawn up by the National Data Management Authority’s eGovernment Unit, the satellite dish that was installed recently in Jacklow will go live sometime this month. Minister Hughes gave a commitment that soon thereafter, she would return to deliver computer tablets for students to use.
“The computers will be of immense help to all the students and my Ministry’s Training Department will come back and hold Computer Literacy classes for anyone in this community,” she assured them.
“When you are able to connect to the internet, it means that you will not have to travel up the river to Charity or go all the way to Georgetown to conduct your business with the NIS, the GRA, or the passport office. You will be able to talk to family and friends on the Internet anywhere, whether they are in Guyana or not,” the Minister added.
Jacklow is just one of seven communities along the Pomeroon River soon to benefit from Internet connectivity via satellite dishes. The dishes were installed in recent months in Kabakaburi, Sirikie, Saint Nicholas Mission, Jacklow, St. Monica’s, Karawab, and Akawani. They will all be activated before September.
Minister Hughes said that this initiative is part of the government’s programme to supply the means for citizens to become computer literate at least, no matter where in Guyana they live and work. To date, the NDMA/eGovernment Unit has installed connections for free Internet at more than 170 community ICT hubs; 175 primary schools; 102 secondary schools; 37 technical and other tertiary institutes; and 120 government ministries and agencies.
