eDevelopment in Sri Lanka progress towards building an Open

Government - a case study from South Asia

Priyanthi Daluwatte (Remote Panellist) Registrar

Northshore College of Business and TechnologySri Lanka

IGF 2013,Bali

Facts about Sri Lanka• An island in the Indian ocean• Population 20.3 million• Middle level income (HDI ranks 92)• Literacy rate 92.2%• IT literacy 40%• Network Readiness Index 69th position out of 144, (71 in

2012)• Telephones per 100 persons (including cellular phones) 117• Internet and e-mail 67.2 per 1,000 persons

Source:

Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Annual Report 2012 http://www.cbsl.gov.lk

World Economic Forum The Global Information Technology Report 2013

http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GITR/2013/GITR_OverallRankings_2013.pdf

ICT Initiatives by Sri Lankan Government

• Sri Lanka first recognized the need for the development of ICT through the National Computer Policy of 1983

• Computer and Information Technology Council of Sri Lanka set up in 1984

• ICT Act was enacted in 2003• The Information and Communication Technology Agency

of Sri Lanka established in 2003• e-Sri Lanka Development Project launched in 2004• Electronic Transaction Act 2006• e-Government Policy approved by Cabinet in 2009

• The e-Sri Lanka initiative uses ICT to develop the economy of Sri Lanka, reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of the people.

• This vision will be realized through the following strategies

– ICT Policy– Leadership and Institutional Development Programme– Information Infrastructure– Re-engineering Government– ICT Human Resource Development– ICT Investment and Private Sector Development– e-Society

Initiatives by Sri Lankan Government (contd)

• Human Resource Capacity Building – government employees to administer e-government services, basic ICT education through the telecentres for rural youth, trained pool of professionals, MBA programme on e-governance

• Formulation and adoption of a National ICT Policy, ICT Action Plan and necessary Legal Framework

• Establish knowledge centers (Nenasalas) 722 established throughout the country which provides affordable telecom services to the rural communities, e-citizen services, e-learning, IT literacy

Re-engineering the government

• Lanka Government Cloud is a community cloud and is open only to Sri Lanka Government organizations

• Lanka Gate (Lanka Interoperability Exchange) and Lanka Government Cloud have been developed to facilitate Open Government and Open data implementations

• Lanka Gate initiative for eServices (Online Payment Services, Mobile Payment Services, SMS Services)

• Over 500 government entities are connected• The government websites in 3 official languages

(inclusive of English)Source:www.icta.lk www.srilanka.lk www.gov.lk

Government Information Centre

• One of the most popular interventions by the government to reach the public is the internationally acclaimed GIC 1919

• In operation for over 7 years• A call centre which is operational on 14 hours x 7 days • About 2,500 calls daily in Sinhala, Tamil or English

http://www.gic.gov.lk/gic/

Lanka Gate

• Lanka Gate will host the Country Portal, Mobile Portal, associated e-Services

• A single window for government services• Lanka Gate is provided with 20+ eServices.  - eRevenue License Issuance

- Issuance of Examination Certificates- View Last Issued Vehicle Number- On-line Water Bill Payments- Viewing of EPF Account Balances- Foreign Examination Results- Reservoir Water Level Details- Merchant Shipping Services- Tea Price Enquiry

• Mobile Apps for• Train schedules• Fish prices

Under the Sri Lanka Gate, Open Data page is created and being further developed

Future Developments

• 2.0 of the e-Development Agenda as ‘Smart Sri Lanka’ • Version 1.0 e-Sri Lanka

“Moving beyond pure technology and focusing more on innovation, transformation, entrepreneurship and

inclusion” - CEO of ICT Agency

• Smart Government• Smart Jobs• Smart People

Thank you

priyanthidaluwatte@yahoo.co.uk