EU, CAF donate $24m for digital transformation

OVER €3 million, of the equivalent of TT$24 million, has been granted by the Latin America and Caribbean Investment Facility (LACIF) in partnership with the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) and the European Union (EU) to the Digital Transformation Ministry. This grant is for the digital development of Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean.

The grant will be used to implement TT’s interoperability platform, e-identity programme and government data centre.

The interoperability platform will allow the sharing of information among government ministries and departments similar to the government data centre, which will be the first locally owned repository for all government information.

With plans to expand regionally, the e-identity programme seeks to provide an electronic alternative to physical ID documents.

At the signing ceremony at the ministry on February 3, CAF executive vice president Gianpiero Leoncini outlined details of the grant.

“Today, CAF has approved the sector-wide-approach programme of US$120 million to support the broader digital strategy, in addition to a US$350,000 technical assistance programme to digitalise tax payments in the country.

“A second phase implementation, scheduled in 2025, will amount to US$227,000.
"Furthermore, CAF is finalising the implementation of a US$225,000 feasibility study for the construction of a tier-four government data centre, which has provided key insights for structuring an investment load of up to US$35 million.
"This investment loan is the first in the Caribbean for the digital infrastructure sector."

Finance Minister Colm Imbert praised the efficiency of CAF's operations.

"One of the things I found about CAF back in 2016-2017, when we got into the full workings, was that we had financing facilities proposed, and three months later, they had money in the bank, which is remarkable, because other multilateral agencies take years to distribute funds, CAF does it in months and sometimes weeks."

Minister of Digital Transformation Hassel Bacchus thanked the EU and CAF for the grant.

“This grant will enable the development and the deployment of digital solutions and applications that will help realise the full potential of these important solutions as force-multipliers for the digital transformation of TT, the wider Caribbean and beyond.

“It’s not just for TT, we are doing this for TT and the Caribbean region. This is a powerful validation of the importance of partnership for digital transformation and a significant step towards the implementation of our national digital transformation strategy.”

Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne praised the collaborative efforts of the organisations involved in the grant agreement.

“The synergy between our respective ministries is really critical in advancing the development, goals and interests in advancing the development goals and interests of our beautiful nation, particularly when it's combined with the synergies that we share with important partners such as the EU and LACIF.

“Now we live, we exercise our responsibilities and fulfil our duties in a complex and changing world in which there are shifting realities and shifting priorities even as we speak. And in this complex global environment, some alliances are changing almost overnight.

“Against that backdrop, it is always important to emphasise our shared principles and to reaffirm partnerships that continue to make a positive difference for the people of TT and the people of the wider Caribbean.”