Skip to main content

Tech in the budget, where are we headed?

Image
By
It is Sunday and the day before the reading of the Trinidad and Tobago 2023 budget. I just ate my Sunday lunch and I decided to start this blog post. I don't know if I have the patience this year to listen to Mr Imbert read a lengthy budget document. I thought I might just wait for the document to be uploaded to the website but somehow I managed to listen to the whole thing while following the comments on youtube and twitter. This was my blog post from last year.

Where are we headed? The country has been running deficit budgets for several years. The cost of living is rising. Public servants want more salary. Crime is out of control. Foreign exchange is difficult for the ordinary man to source. The government has to balance our wants and spend against limited income. The government has managed to preserve public sector jobs so far and I applaud them for this. We need an intervention. Tech can be a driver of efficiency, lower spending and increased income.

Lets take a look at some of the tech related and other items mentioned in the budget that stood out to me. I was glad to hear about renewable energy and a solar power plant. 5G tech is being utilised at the phoenix park. Gas is going up so time to car pool and use public transport. A cashless agenda is being pursued. The key initiatives under digital transformation are, developers hub, national e-identity solution, connected Arima and open data. This is nothing new announced under digital transformation and I am disappointed but I also understand the digital transformation strategy is being worked on. Toco ferry port looks promising. Technology to be used in agriculture. Body cameras for police is on going. Refurbishment of youth development centers to take place. A one time transport grant of $1,000 for grant recipients is much needed and welcomed.

Can I be optimistic about our future after this budget? Yes I can but maybe I need to be a realist. What I cannot be is a pessimist that talks doom and gloom. I am thankful for the many good in spite of the bad. I would repeat what I said the last time, I wanted to see new ideas and innovation. I wanted to see a focus on technology. I put my hopes in the next generation of leaders. The next generation loves the technology. The next generation wants smart work over hard work. Think startup culture, work from home, online schooling and no traffic.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mental health matters

By
It is 547am and I have decided to write. I have been living with a mental health diagnosis for more than 23 years. I am differently abled. Mental illness sometimes presents itself as a non-visible disability. A person with mental illness may look and function normally. Added to that we do not get to see the struggles happening internally. After 23 years I could say that I have much experience with my condition and may be able to offer words that may help others. There is plenty of stigma associated with mental illness. People think that the mentally ill are bad people, weak, or somehow less deserving of dignity and the treatment of the illness sometimes feels like punishment and is dehumanizing at times. There is much good intentions and well meaning as well (do not get me wrong) but things could be better. And it happens at the highest level. A leader once said, "Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad." As the saying goes, who knows it feels it. I started a project...
Post a Comment
Read more

Drums of freedom

By
It is 401am and I have decided to write. This Saturday, Trinidad and Tobago observes African Emancipation Day. It is a day to celebrate the journey to freedom and to honor those who sacrificed so much so that we could enjoy the freedoms we have today. Yet the journey is not over. As we celebrate how far we have come, let us also ask God to open our minds and hearts to the struggles that continue. Freedom is never something we should take for granted. Every day, we witness powerful interests around the world attempting to stifle freedom in pursuit of their own agendas and self-aggrandizement. Too often, they seek to divide in order to conquer. May we resist division with wisdom, courage, and compassion. May unity triumph over hatred, truth over deception, and love over fear. As we remember the past, may we also commit ourselves to protecting the freedoms of the present and building a more just future for generations to come. Happy African Emancipation Day. May God continue to guide us o...
Post a Comment
Read more

Love and joy

By
It is 230pm and I have decided to write. I have no topic but I want to write. I am thinking about God. I am thinking about life. I am grateful for God and life. I need a writing prompt. My friend Chatty gave me a pretty verbose prompt. Sit quietly for a moment and imagine that God asks you only one question: "What have you noticed?" Don't answer with theology. Answer with your life. What have you noticed about joy? About fear? About the way people love? About silence? About time? About your own heart? Where have you sensed God—not in miracles, but in ordinary moments? Where have you struggled to find Him? What has life been teaching you that you were too busy to hear before? Write honestly. Don't try to reach a conclusion. Let the page become a conversation rather than an argument. I immediately noticed the light streaming through the window that allows me to see the world. My first thought was how much we take things for granted. It is easy to feel lacking. To feel s...
Post a Comment
Read more