The PPP/C’s Government is on a mission to bridge the digital gap between the hinterland and coast to ensure the entire country is connected.

As such, the Office of the Prime Minister’s Industry and Innovation Unit wrapped up a four-day Photovoltaic (PV) training programme.

The course facilitated by trainers from GSOL Energy, Denmark exposed participants to various aspects of PV installations.

A total of 30 trainees from Regions One through Ten benefitted from the programme.

The training falls under the OPM’s Information Communication Technology (ICT) Access and eServices for Hinterland Poor and Remote Communities Project.

Furthermore, the $3.4 billion (US$17 million) project designed to provide services to Guyanese in their own homes.

Meanwhile, the project started under the PPP/C administration in 2014 focuses on persons in far flung and rural communities.

ABOUT THE PROGRAMME

Meanwhile, during brief remarks at the closing ceremony Minister of Amerindian Affairs Hon. Pauline Sukhai said hinterland communities will no longer be denied connectivity.

“We are excited to ensure that this project is executed and executed very quickly, it will bring quite a lot of benefits to the hinterland and to those poor and remote communities across our country.”

The project will also see some 200 ICT hubs being established across the 10 administrative regions.

Meanwhile, according to Consult Coordinator on the project, Mr. Ronald Harsawack there needs to be a stable energy to ensure people are connected.

“We want to either rehabilitate or construct 200 hubs in those communities, we will retrofit those hubs to include 20 laptops, we will include a VSAT type satellite dish for internet connectivity. Our goal is to power the ICT hubs from the systems you see here today,” he said.

Moreover, Mr. Harsawack stated that the project does not just stop at establishing ICT hubs in communities, it will also accommodate computer literacy training.

Additionally, Other areas of training are computer operation, software application and Microsoft office, among other basic computer programmes.

(Story and Photos: Department of Public Information)