From the Office of the Prime Minister ST.GEORGE’S, GRENADA, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2ND, 2009_ Prime Minister Hon. Tillman Thomas, has called for a renewed focus on the use of ICT in the development of the region. He was addressing the 10th Anniversary awards ceremony of CARISCIENCE in Suriname earlier today. The Grenadian leader left the island on Thursday to attend the event, which he addressed in his capacity as the lead CARICOM Prime Minister in the area of Science and Technology. In his speech, the Prime Minister outlined some of the major challenges facing the region and called for a strategic, planned and structured approach to the use of technology in the generation of wealth and the improvement in the quality of life for the people of the region. “At this stage of our growth and development as a region, a major challenge is to find avenues for satisfying the needs of our present population without compromising the ability of future generations to do likewise,” the Prime Minister said. He also called for a review of the education system, to encourage students to take the sciences seriously, as the region grapples with climate change, the need for research and development to enhance its limited resources and the need to be competitive in providing services to the international community. “The time has come when we need to inspire and challenge our young people and indeed our populations become self sufficient, and to utilize more of our resources. We need to take our mangoes, our fish and our minerals into the laboratories of our colleges and universities to create value and new products that will be marketable,” the Prime Minister declared. Agriculture Minister Denis Michael Lett has been appointed Acting Prime Minister, in the absence of Prime Minister Thomas, who will return to the state on Saturday.