PARLIAMENT

A program to inform Members of Parliament regarding the 2030 National Digital Strategy was held in Parliament recently (Oct. 03).

This briefing was done when the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Technology met under the Chairmanship of State Minister of Technology Hon. Kanaka Herath    .

2030 - The Thematic Working Group (TWG) appointed to prepare the National Digital Strategy briefed the Members of Parliament.

Accordingly, World Bank representative Mr. Siddhartha Raja, who presented the matter on behalf of the thematic working group, stated that the draft of the 2030 National Digital Strategy is being prepared under the vision of "inclusion, innovation and sustainable growth".

He further said that key strategies for each theme include infrastructure connectivity, connected digital government, digital financial services, cyber security, skills and industries and inter-sectoral digitization.

Accordingly, World Bank Representative Mr. Siddhartha Raja added that the National Digital Strategy is expected to be published in early November.

The Member of Parliament who participated in the Committee pointed out that it is concerning that the data of the people of this country and others are already available in various Government institutions and they are not under one database. State Minister of Technology Hon. Kanaka Herath said that this situation can be avoided by implementing the Sri Lanka Unique Digital National Identity Card project currently planned.

Furthermore, The Committee inquired the Central Bank officials about the current situation regarding the introduction of the PayPal system in Sri Lanka. The Central Bank officials mentioned that the Central Bank has asked the company in concern to introduce the PayPal system in Sri Lanka, but due to the decision taken by the company, the introduction of the PayPal system in Sri Lanka is delayed.

The vacancies of IT officials in government institutions were also discussed here. Officials pointed out that the salaries paid by Government institutions are very low compared to the salaries of IT officers in the private sector, therefore, people who are qualified are not entering the positions in Government institutions.

State Minister of Technology Hon. Kanaka Herath pointed out that this salary scale cannot be increased according to the management service salary arrangements, and accordingly, it has been proposed to recruit qualified persons only under the President or the Ministry of Technology and appoint them to the relevant institutions.

Consultative Committee Members Hon. Mayantha Dissanayake, Hon. Premnath C. Dolawatte, Deputy Speaker Hon. Ajith Rajapakse, Minister Hon. Kanchana Wijesekera, State Minister Hon. (Dr.) Suren Raghavan, Hon. Vijitha Berugoda Members of Parliament Hon. D. Weerasingha, Hon. Thenuka Vidanagamage, Hon. Asanka Navaratne, Hon. Kumarasiri Rathnayaka, Hon. Udayana Kirindigoda, Hon. (Dr.) Upul Galappaththi, Hon. Weerasumana Weerasinghe, Hon. Udayakantha Gunathilaka, Hon. Yadamini Gunawardena, Hon. (Prof.) Charitha Herath, Hon. Gamini Waleboda, Hon. Madhura Withanage, Hon. Sanjeeva Edirimanna, Hon. Upul Mahendra Rajapaksha,  Hon. Samanpriya Herath, Hon. (Mrs.) Rajika Wickramasinghe, Hon. (Mrs.) Manjula Dissanayake, were present at the Committee meeting held.