President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, addressing the 20 th Economic Summit of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, said that the very recent establishment of a separate Ministry of Technology under his direct purview was an important step in the overall Ministry drive towards digitization.
It will foster the creation of a “Technology Based Society” that improves services available to citizens whilst enabling our industries to compete globally is a key pillar of the Vision I articulated before my election as President,” he said.
By converging four prominent technologies—social, mobile, analytics, and cloud—we have the potential to transform the way governance works. The recent introduction of the Staysafe.gov.lk website to ease COVID19 contact tracing is a case in point, he said.
“More broadly, the fostering of citizen-centric digital governance will ensure that services such as obtaining National Identity Cards, Passports, Birth Certificates, Death Certificates, Driving Licenses, Land Deeds etc., is made faster and more convenient to the public.
Continuing, the President said : “The digitization of the National Persons’ Registry in particular will enable a more streamlined and secure process for identity verification. This will in turn build the foundation for improved online service delivery in many other areas, including financial services and ecommerce. It will also greatly enhance the Government’s ability to effectively widen the tax base, which will be one of the key factors in improving our fiscal position.
A significant issue in Sri Lanka’s current economic context is the extremely high debt burden we are faced with. The large volume of pending debt repayments is a matter of concern.
It is important to stress, however, that Sri Lanka has always met its debt obligations on time and in full, and that we will continue to do so.
Nevertheless, our overreliance on loans must come to an end. That is why the focus of the Government is on fostering investments. Setting the platform for a robust economic revival requires both the public sector and the private sector to work in partnership. We must ensure that all our initiatives in various sectors are guided by a shared central vision and driven by clear objectives and actionable plans. All initiatives undertaken by both the public and the private sector must contribute to uplifting our growth trajectory.
The Government will play its part to unleash the full potential of the private sector so that the interests of our people will be best served. The Budget for 2021 contains a range of initiatives designed with this in mind.”
“In this context, I am aware that the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has prepared an Economic Acceleration Framework with the participation of over 70 industry professionals for the consideration of the Government. I appreciate this initiative and look forward to perusing this document. Value generating proposals will certainly receive the Government’s serious attention,” the President remarked.
(R.L.)
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