THE Information Technology Society of Solomon Islands (ITSSI) is pleased to see the firm commitment by the DCCG to initiate the submarine cable project.

The society is adamant that this is a necessary investment because it has the potential to spur growth and improve efficiency.

ITSSI would also like to thank the public for their active participation in discussing this important investment.

However, ITSSI also wishes to respond to criticisms about the government’s investment especially those sentiments raised by Mr Star Dora on local media.

ITSSI states “While we share the concern for deteriorating infrastructure and government services, we must not be blinded to the obvious benefit of this investment.

“There are many examples of how we can benefit from investment in the submarine cable.

“One of the biggest beneficiaries will be the education sector.

“With the necessary impetus from schools we can open a unified portal for students to access digital libraries around the globe.

“This will significantly reduce the government burden to build a physical library for each school.

“Our own national university, SINU can benefit tremendously from online collaborations with peers and academics from around the globe.

“The Solomon Islands is an island nation susceptible to natural disasters. With improved communication, we can disseminate information faster and collect necessary information quickly by establishing basic infrastructure for disaster response in all provinces.

“It is very important to note that the benefits we will get are simply a new, more efficient way of doing the same things we have always been doing.”

ICT is an enabler for development and when harnessed in the right way, it will spur economic growth and reduce costs on service delivery both for the public and private sector.

Improved ICT will open new opportunities for entrepreneurship for local businesses.

ITSSI wishes to seek the government’s commitment in establishing the necessary legal framework to safeguard against the negative impact of improved communication.

“This is an important responsibility and ITSSI wishes to call on respective bodies from government, the judiciary and civil society to convene and discuss safeguards that must be established to ensure that we provide basic protection to our citizens while enjoying the benefits of this investment.”