The launch included three key services that will benefit millions of citizens. The first is the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) eService, which gives 13.3 million members of EPF online access to their account information after registering with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka for a login ID and password. The second eService by the Department of Examinations enables students to apply for certificates online the year they complete their examinations. Nearly 150 students apply for certificates in Sri Lanka per day. The third service, a collaboration between the Sri Lanka Tea Board and ICTA, allows nearly 700 tea factories and 40,000 tea growers to obtain real time tea prices, instead of waiting for prices to be issued once a month as before.
Other services offered include renewal or issuance of shipping agent and container operator licenses by the Merchant Shipping Division, online payment of bills by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, and online purchase of vehicle information from the Department of Motor Traffic. All services are available in Sinhala, Tamil and English languages.
“Our goal in the near future is to make all public services available to every citizen in this country in their own households and eliminate the need to visit several Government institutions time and time again in order to obtain services, which is the current practice,” said Lalith Weeratunga, Presidential Secretary. Professor P. W. Epasinghe, ICTA Chairman, agreed, “We want to bring the information revolution to every citizen in this country, especially those in the villages, instead of limiting it to a privileged few.” In August, ICTA launched eSociety, a project which promotes the use of ICT to meet the needs and empower rural citizens of Sri Lanka (which comprise 70% of the population).
The eServices project is part of a larger ‘e-Sri Lanka’ initiative launched in 2004, which aims at “using ICT to develop the economy of Sri Lanka, reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of the people” through a five-pronged strategy including the development of IT infrastructure, modernising government, and promoting Sri Lanka as an ICT destination for the private sector.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Sumedha Jalote
Quelle/Source: futureGov, 17.09.2012
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