President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has instructed officials to accelerate the digitalisation of local authorities and Divisional Secretariats as part of the government’s digital transformation programme aimed at delivering faster, more efficient and transparent public services.
President Dissanayake issued the instructions during a progress review meeting held at the Presidential Secretariat this afternoon (29).
The meeting focused extensively on the National Framework for the Digitalisation of Local Authorities, currently being developed by the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, the President’s Media Division said in a statement.
During the meeting, President Dissanayake instructed officials to identify all services that local authorities are required to provide to the general public, determine which services can be digitalised, and assess whether those services are adequately covered by existing digital systems.
The attendees of the meeting also discussed the establishment of a single national digital system for the public service, instead of separate systems operated independently by individual institutions. The President stressed the need for close coordination between the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government and the Ministry of Digital Economy, the PMD stated.
He also instructed that three officers from the Ministry of Digital Economy be assigned to support the further development of the national system, identify shortcomings in existing systems and implement necessary improvements.
The discussion covered digital services already provided by local authorities, including rates and other revenue payments, bookings of playgrounds and public halls, shop rentals, water bill payments, and applications for various permits and licences. The development of digital mechanisms to address public grievances was also discussed, along with further improvements to systems such as GovPay.
Progress on the digitalisation of Divisional Secretariats was also reviewed. More than 300 services currently provided by Divisional Secretariats have been identified, while progress in connecting services from the Grama Niladhari level through to Divisional and District Secretariats was examined.
Special attention was given to the digitalisation programme being implemented in the Polonnaruwa District, including experiences related to paddy purchasing and the provision of disaster relief.
The President instructed officials to initially implement the Divisional Secretariat Digitalisation Programme as a fully equipped model module in a selected district, incorporating all necessary facilities.
The meeting also reviewed the GovHR digital system, which is being developed to digitalise the entire administrative process relating to public officers, from their appointment until retirement, the PMD added.
Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne, Secretary to the President Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, Senior Adviser to the President on Digital Economy Hans Wijayasuriya, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage, and senior officials from the relevant ministries and government agencies attended the meeting.
