Puerto Rico Governor-Elect Ricardo Rossell- announced a technology initiative to cut the government's costs and boost efficiency.
Rossell- said Thursday the Puerto Rico Innovation and Technology Service would seek professionals to work on the initiative.
"PRITS is a fundamental step that provides what Puerto Rico needs most: transparency, efficiency and economic development," Rossell- said. He added that he had sent a letter to the Puerto Rico Oversight Board, which was appointed this year to help the commonwealth deal with its debt crisis, asking for its cooperation in the technology efforts.
PRITS is inspired by the Digital Service of the United States, a program started in 2014. The program, which is associated with the White House, brings in experienced tech professionals on short and medium-term contracts to work on projects improving federal technology.
Rossell- is asking the board to ask the Digital Services of the United States to assign personnel to the PRITS program in multi-year contracts.
PRITS will be "important to restoring fiscal health and economic development in Puerto Rico," Rossell- said.
On Wednesday the governor-elect named Luis Arocho González as chief information officer for his administration. Arocho González will be in charge of computer science and technology. He studied computer science at Interamerican University.
Arocho González plans to communicate with Digital Services of the United States about improving Puerto Rico's government modernization.
A group of diaspora Puerto Ricans residing in the 50 states responded to the PRITS proposal by saying, "We are happy to hear that Puerto Rico's Governor-Elect Ricardo Rossell- is proposing to transform the government's services with the implementation of technology. It would be even better if some of those federal employees are Puerto Ricans searching for a way to return to the island."
The ConPRmetidos group continued, "The government's infrastructure and office systems are outdated, so agencies are unable to collaborate effectively and efforts are too often duplicated or lost. Creating a proper infrastructure would reduce government costs and increase long term efficiency."
In 2015 and 2016 the Puerto Rico Department of the Treasury invested money in updating its computer systems, partly with a goal of increasing revenue collected.
