National ICT Strategic Plan Government of St Kitts and Nevis quality of life of the people. The five major branches of this National ICT Strategy would be as shown below: x building the information infrastructure x enabling the policy and legal environment x developing ICT human resources and building capacity (information society) x modernizing government and delivering citizen services electronically x leveraging ICT for economic and social development, through public-private partnerships. The 2004-2005 Global Information Technology Report highlights the policy, institutional, and structural obstacles that prevent countries from fully capturing the benefits of ICT. It analyzes a country’s networked readiness based on three so-called pillars. (i) the environment for ICT development, such as the regulatory regime and the legal framework for ICT, the available infrastructure, and other technological development factors; (ii) the actual levels of networked readiness of individuals, businesses, and governments; and (iii) the actual levels of usage of ICT by individuals, businesses, and governments. (iv) The five areas that have been identified as being of national imperative would cover these allimportant pillars Key Strategic Steps for Implementing the ICT Initiative As mentioned before to ensure that the National ICT Strategic Plan comes to fruition, a longterm permanent commitment must be made. A thorough re-engineering of existing processes and a cultural change must also take place. A number of key strategic steps are essential to the overall success of the plan and these are outlined below: Ministry of Finance, Sustainable Development, Information and Technology November, 2006 4