4. Status of e-Government Services

The three-year Re-engineering Government Programme of the eSri Lanka project that commenced in 200975 had identified five projects (ePensions, eForeign Employment, eMotoring, eCitizen ID, and eProcurement) to be completed in three years.76 However, although a large number of medium and small scale e-service programmes had been implemented successfully, in 2012, these complex, time consuming projects were at various stages of completion.77

There were many reasons for the slow progress of eTransformation projects. In the first instance, ICTA was a government-owned company with a cross-national mandate. The head of ICTA did not have a rank equivalent to a Ministry Secretary and was an ‘outsider’. It had been designated the apex policy making body for the eSri Lanka project but the National Administrative Reforms Council (ARC) was designated the apex policy making body for the ‘re-engineering government’ programme. The Steering Committee of the ARC comprising senior public officials of critical departments did not meet to provide policy guidance.78 These projects are huge in scope, involve many agencies,79 and project management is problematic. Changes in the scope of the project, changes in personnel, and political issues also contributed to delays.80 There were few institutional drivers at national and policy level. Heads of Department, who were crucial to the successful implementation of the e-government programme, by and large, did not appreciate the value of such a transformation, and often lacked the vision, the knowledge, and the support of skilled staff81 to implement e-government programmes.82 Importantly, there was internal resistance among IT staff to changes proposed. This was one of the reasons that led to the withdrawal of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment from the eEmployment programme after two years, and with about a quarter of the work completed. This lack of commitment of the agencies adversely impacted e-government programmes that required internal change. The e-transformation project duration was three years, starting from 2009. However, in 2012 all the major e-government projects were still at the pilot stage.83 As a result, Sri Lanka's ranking on the UN E-government rank dropped from 94th position in 2005 to 115 in 2012.84

In the two years after 2012, ICTA concentrated on eServices programmes that do not require major internal transformation (Virtual Business Transformation) but use already existing data and information to provide e-services. The intent was to achieve at least one aspect of e-government: the creation of more user friendly, accessible, multichannel based citizen services. In 2015, there were over 100 interactive information services, 20 e-paying services, and three e-connect government services. The award-winning Government Information Centre is one such service. The implementation of these services resulted in Sri Lanka being ranked at the 74th position in the UN e-government Survey of 201485, climbing 41 places since 2012. But, as Deshapriya86 observes, these projects contributed to “an artificially higher ranking in the E-gov index” as they are confined to “looking at temporary improvements and giving up the chance for re-engineering government”.87

All the electronic services (eServices) and electronic information in Sri Lanka are delivered via Lanka Gate (LG), the main web interface that connects users to eServices and serves as a primary access point for citizens, non-citizens, businesses, agents, and government employees to a range of government organisations and businesses. As of 2016, nearly 200 virtual server spaces are provided to about 40 different projects under LG.

An eParticipation portal titled ‘engage’ to “engage citizens for obtaining their inputs on various national level initiatives” was initiated in 2016.88 It has several discussion boards. The forum consists of stakeholders representing the public and private sector and IT experts. Although a grievance handling mechanism through the Government Information Centre (GIC) was available, its use had been poor with only 690 using this facility in 2013. This could be attributed to “the lack of trust” and lack of publicity as well as the slow/inadequate response to the complaints lodged.89 A Citizen Forum has also been introduced on the GIC website.

A recent noteworthy initiative is the web portal titled Girls in ICT,90 inspired by the ITU Girls in ICT. The portal seeks to “empower women in the ICT sector” by providing information and resources for them to pursue a course of studies and a career in the sector.

 


  1. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific n.d. What is Good Governance? Retrieved from http://www.unescap.org/pdd/prs/projectactivities/ongoing/gg/governance.pdf 7th January 2016.
  2. World Bank 2004. Project appraisal document. Ibid.
  3. Deshapriya, Wasantha 2012. Forever pilots-e-transformation projects are at crossroads. Retrieved from http://www.engage.icta.lk/?p=417 14th January 2016.
  4. Galpaya, Helani 2015. Challenges of implementing egov programmes. LirneAsia.Retrieved from http://lirneasia.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/S12_2015-03-Nepal_FordCouse_Galpaya_eGovImplementation.pdf. 14th January 2016.
  5. For instance, ePopulation Register programme involved 330 district secretariats in addition to several ministries.
  6. Wasala, W.M.A.U. & Abeygunawardena, R.A.B. 2014. University of Colombo Proceedings of the Annual Research Symposium, Colombo.
  7. Ibid.
  8. Lack of support for reform and change was identified as a high risk to achieving results. World Bank 2004, Project appraisal document. p. 14.
  9. Deshapriya, Wasantha 2012. op.cit.
  10. United Nations E-Government Survey 2012. Retrieved from https://publicadministration.un.org/egovkb/Portals/egovkb/Documents/un/2012 Survey/Statistical-annex.pdf. 26th January 2016.
  11. United Nations E-Government Survey 2014. Retrieved from https://publicadministration.un.org/egovkb/Portals/egovkb/Documents/un/2014-Survey/E-Gov_Annexes.pdf. 26th January 2016.
  12. Deshapriya, Wasantha 2012. op.cit.
  13. Ibid.
  14. http://eparticipation.gov.lk/
  15. MG Consultants (2011) Outcome Evaluation Survey for Government Information Centre. Final Report. Colombo.
  16. Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Sri Lanka 2016. Girls in ICT Retrieved from http://192.248.22.120/trcict/ 2nd May 2016.