Digital technology in place once Port City develops
Sri Lankans need to be digitally savvy and be in readiness when the Colombo Port City’s Financial Project is completed.
Speaking at an event in Colombo, Minister of Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure & Foreign Employment Harin Fernando also noted that Colombo will be next to Dubai and Singapore. There are also plans to develop six main key areas within the Ministry strategically on short and mid term and long term goals to bridge the digital divide.
The Minister was addressing a ceremony to mark the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Microsoft - Sri Lanka and the ministry at the Shangri la Hotel at Galle Face Colombo on Wednesday.
He said that although fibre optic cable is now available and was digitally connected to each other, people still do not believe that they are connected. “Government servants do not believe it and do not want to use the fibre optic cable but prefers to do things manually than switching over to digital system.”
The Minister said that as the world transforms and digitisation is seen across all industries, the public sector partnership of Sri Lanka and Microsoft becomes vital for Sri Lanka to harness connectivity, cloud computing and Artificial Intelligence.
Referring to ‘tablets’ not being provided to Advanced Level students, the Minister said that he was unhappy about the move following the defeat of the government at the recently concluded local government elections. “The government however believed providing fertilizer to farmers was more beneficial than tablets to students. However I do not agree with the move,” he said.
Secretary to the Ministry of Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure & Foreign Employment Wasantha Deshapriya said digital transformation is a milestone for the public sector in Sri Lanka. He said Intellectual Property Law has to be observed when government employees use the Internet. He also cautioned that the government is vulnerable to attacks when genuine software is not used and government employees too are clueless on Internet security. “We also learnt that Microsoft has a programme to ensure government security, an area that we want to collaborate with,” he said
The MOU will enable the Ministry to improve efficiency and to create good governance to ensure effective citizen services for it’s people. The MOU was signed by Mr. Deshapriya and Hasitha Abeywardena, Country Manager of Microsoft Sri Lanka and Maldives. The MOU is the realisation of the country’s e-Government policy and plans for digital transformation.