ICT’s new Bluetooth headset to increase road safety – Jerrol Thompson
This year is expected to be a big year for information and communication technology (ICT) in St Vincent and the Grenadines.{{more}}
This point was made by Dr Jerrol Thompson at a press conference on Tuesday, as he highlighted several things that were expected to take place regarding ICTs.
One of these will take place on May 17, when the focus would be on ICT in road safety. Illustrating his point, Thompson launched into a dramatic display of how his Bluetooth headset is used.
This headset is connected to one’s cell phone and can be used to answer calls while doing other tasks, without having to touch the mobile device.
“It’s quite an amazing tool; it stores battery life for 24 hoursâ¦and it also has voice dialing, so I can keep my hands on the steering wheel and still communicate,” Thompson said.
The special projects director in the Prime Ministerâs Office admitted to using his phone while driving and barely escaping accident free. He stressed the dangers of using one’s cell phone while driving and praised the headset for being extremely user friendly.
“It is going to save some lives,” he declared. “We are going to be going on a public campaign to make sure that drivers of St Vincent and the Grenadines obey the law and avoid using the cell phoneâ¦that will distract them from driving safely on the road”.
Additionally, Thompson mentioned a new state-of-the-art ICT e-Government centre on the third floor of the CLICO building, which will officially be opened in due course.
“[It] is going to feature some of the latest in terms of what can be done within the government sector to make sure that people are connected, that work is being done efficiently between one department and the other,” he said.
Moreover, Thompson noted that with the aid of the World Bank, St Vincent’s infrastructure as it relates to ICTs will be improved.
“We are going to continue the backbone under the streets of Kingstown connecting the ministries,” Thompson stated.
He mentioned that it is also the hope to branch out to Arnos Vale and other areas, so that police stations, hospitals and clinics can communicate with one another using ICT.
“There is a lot of significant changes that will be taking place,” Thompson announced.
Andre Bailey, Director of Information Technology Services Division, also pointed out several projects to be undertaken. He also provided more information on those mentioned by Thompson.
Bailey indicated that the ICT centre was sponsored by the Republic of China on Taiwan.
“This centre is going to help to make us better, more efficient,” he said. “We want to be able to develop programmes from scratch”.
The director expressed the view that programmers in St Vincent are able to carry out such a task and pointed out that this route will be cost-efficient.
The e-Government for Regional Integration Project (E-GRIP) is another project that was noted by Bailey.
He stated that one of the many aspects of this project would be a multipurpose ID that will be used for vetting and the identification of individuals in order to combat the growing problem of identity theft.
“This is going to take us to the next level in terms of how we are looked at from the outside world,” Bailey said. “We are looking at the bigger picture to seeâ¦how far we can go.” (BK)
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