IfG.CC - The Potsdam eGovernment Competence Center

e-Government is a diffused neologism used to refer to the use of information and communication technology to provide and improve Government services, transactions and interactions with citizens, business and other arms of Government.

e-Government therefore is all about improving the quality of delivery of Government services to the public, to business and within the whole of Government. ICT is only a tool.

Speaking at the launch of the Nenasala Centre at Samanthurai via satellite from the Presidential Secretariat, President Rajapaksa said his objective was to extend computer literacy to 60 per cent of the country’s population from the current 25 per cent.

The Centre located at the Sri Lanka Institute of Development Administration (SLIDA) showcases the true spirit of public private partnerships collating the synergies of the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), SLIDA, Oracle Corporation Singapore, PC House and Millennium Information Technologies on behalf of SUN Microsystems and Cisco. The Centre will have a dedicated manager and team, with demonstration and development of e-governance solutions and proof-of-concepts carried out by technical experts of the partners.

Asia’s premier ICT event e-Asia 2009, the fourth in the series was opened by President Mahinda Rajapaksa at the BMICH yesterday. It was jointly organized by the Information Technology Communication Agency (ICTA) and Centre for Science Development and Media Studies under the theme “Opportunities for Digital Asia”. The three-day Information and Communication Technology event of the region for the year includes a conference and exhibition which will conclude tomorrow.

The professor said so in his keynote address at the first of several national eGovernment policy workshops planned for this year, held at Water's Edge, Colombo last Thursday (18) from 8.30 a.m. to 4.30 p.m.

This modern LGN project implementation was carried out as a strategic project of the Re-Engineering Government programme of Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), which functions under the Presidential Secretariat.

Participating at the conference as the chief guest, Weeratunga emphasised, in his key note address, the value of thinking creatively and figuring out new ways for providing service smartly to the public. He said that in public service there were numerous instances where a little creative thinking could lead to simple and small projects that would carry out the tasks faster, at less cost, in a more pleasant manner and in a less cumbersome way both for the government servant as well as the public. The audience of this conference organized by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) consisted mainly of senior government officials who form the pivotal part in the machinery for implementing the eGovernment programme.

Moreover, Re-engineering Government will strive to ensure that government services are delivered efficiently at the right time, to the right place, and to the citizens' very doorstep, be it the home or the freely accessible community information centres (VGKs). It will provide citizen services in the most efficient and productive manner, by re-engineering and empowering business processes of the government.

Secretary of the Public Management Reforms Ministry, P.B. Abeykoon, said a series of 10 workshops on the new policy were being held across the country.

Mr Abeykoon said knowledge of ICT among top Public Servants would “greatly help” improve public services.

The card will include the individual’s fingerprints and will have security features to prevent tampering, counterfeiting and forging, confirming to relevant international standards. All applications will be scanned and details will be computerised following a verification process before the card is printed, Kumara informed.

Telecommunication and IT Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said the Electronic patient documentation will involve computerising every detail of a patient’s clinical history including consultation information.

He added the patient details will be updated in every consultation.

Bandula Ranathuga, project manager at the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils told FutureGov that patients can simply call Hotline 0711-370370 and follow operator instructions to get an appointment. The patient will then receive an SMS from the hospital detailing the time he could visit the physician or doctor concerned.

Yet, the Internet penetration in Sri Lanka is extremely poor when considered with other Asian countries. Many reasons are attributed for this gap and in Dr. Wijayasuriya's words "it can be mainly attributed to consumers who do not perceive any marginal value that can be extracted from the Internet'.

The country had the biggest improvement in the NRI, which is a global indicator used to ascertain the success of ICT activities in counties.

Sri Lanka has managed to reap these positive results mainly due to the government’s e-development agenda, ICT Agency of Sri Lanka Chief Executive Officer, Reshan Dewapura said.

Public-private partnership has been the focus of Indian smart city projects

Without any doubt, we all can learn from each other in providing efficient urban services in our cities in order to make them more liveable and truly sustainable, Vikash Chandra, Team Leader, Smart Cities Mission, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Govt. of India told The Island in New Delhi recently.