e-Government and the Internet in the Caribbean: An Initial Assessment

Abstract

Effective e-government requires cultural change, the incorporation of inter-organizational teams, identification and evaluation of knowledge management assets, and incorporation of facilitating information and communication technologies. Government services must harness this range of information resources. Several governments in the Caribbean have recognized the importance of consolidating and exploiting their dispersed knowledge resources. The objectives of e-government are being analysed with a view to determining the most appropriate means of delivering services via electronic means. The paper examines particularly communication with citizens over the Internet, the delivery of Internet based government information, and aids to the citizenry in using these new facilities. Telecentres located in libraries and community centres, in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean, demonstrate the early development of facilities for enhancing government communication with citizens over the Internet, and interaction between citizens and those providing services