| Government has started a review of its One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) project, yesterday, disclosing that an inspection found a large number of unserviceable and defective ones at the Queenstown Office.A vast majority of the defective laptops appeared to be “gifts” from China.The inspection team included Minister of State, Joseph Harmon; Government Advisor on E-Governance, Floyd Levi and Legal Advisor in the Ministry of the Presidency, Geeta Chandan-Edmond.A tour of the office was facilitated by the OLPF Project Manager,Alex English Jersey, Margot Boyce. A statement of the inspection at the project’s Forshaw Street office is part of the process of understanding what is happening with E-Governance, the Ministry of the Presidency said yesterday.The inspection would come on the heels of a visit to the E-Governance project headed by Alexei Ramotar.According to Harmon, he observed that there was “nothing much” happening with the OLPF, with a large number of unserviceable and defective laptops found. This, he says, is as a result of bad sourcing of the equipment from China.He believes that the sourcing was done by persons who are independent of the Management of the OLPF.The team at OLPF was basically managing and administering equipment that were given to them–some were useless.The official made it clear that Government will at this time review the operations of the project,Cheap Jerseys, and the linkage between what is done with computers and what is done with the entire E-Governance project. The latter is an ambitious project to connect Government offices and facilities, using internet and other means.Already some 50-plus towers have been installed across the coastland along with the construction of a data centre behind Castellani House,Josh Perkins Jersey, Vlissengen Road.According to Harmon, there is a gap between the OLPF, E-Governance project and the delivery of internet service to the rest of the country. That needs to be properly explained.“The Minister noted that nothing can be done with the laptops he has seen in storage at the OLPF office. He added that the bulk of the laptops were a gift, and Guyana had no real say in what was received.”Minister Harmon said that had technical persons been given an opportunity to advise and choose, no decision would have been taken to accept gifts that are now worthless.The OLPF programme was launched in 2011. The aim was to equip some 90,Authentic Adidas Hockey Jerseys China,000 poor families with laptops and to expand the use of ICT across the country.Up to May last year,wholesale jerseys, 28,000 laptops were already distributed to families in various communities countrywide.The previous government had been embroiled in controversy with questions over the actual distribution process and the cost for each laptop, which the previous administration cost at US$295.The Bharrat Jagdeo government said it would have spent US$27M for the laptops,Cheap Carolina Panthers Jerseys, part of the monies coming from a Chinese loan. |
