Government to replace Information and Communication Technology Agency with ‘GovTech’ Institution

The government has decided to establish a ‘GovTech’ institution to replace the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) operating under the Ministry of Digital Economy to provide a more efficient digital technology service.

The aim of this reform is to accelerate the digital transformation process in Sri Lanka and increase the technological efficiency of the public sector. With this aim, moves are under way to establish an institute called ‘GovTech’, which replaces ICTA, said Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne at a media briefing held at the Ministry yesterday., (March 11).

The Deputy Minister further added that a Digital Economy Authority should be established to formulate policies related to the government’s digital economy. Besides, a stronger institutional structure should be created, compared to the ICTA. Therefore, he also noted that a technological institution like ‘GovTech’ is needed to implement the policies.

“GovTech is a new type of institution that reorganises and will be taking forward the previous ICTA institution. Accordingly, the work done by ICTA will be taken over, and carried forward by ‘GovTech’ in a more comprehensive and systematic manner. Accordingly, ‘GovTech’ has been planned to take Sri Lanka towards its digital economic goals,” the Minister said.

“Many people think that ‘GovTech’ is similar to ICTA. Even though ICTA is also an institution established to perform and moderate the information, communication, technology and it sector activities, ‘GovTech’ would provide a rather broad service in that regard. Besides, there are many clear differences between the way ICTA operated and the way ‘GovTech’ operates,” he further added.

For example, we hope to involve a team with a very high technical knowledge and experience in ‘GovTech’. The team, consisting of 150 professional, who will monitor the government’s digital projects and how it should be implemented, what the implementation methodology should be and ensure that they are implemented successfully. Through the establishment of ‘GovTech’, we will be able to create a more useful digital public service system for the country,” Minister noted.

The World Bank has agreed to provide US$ 50 million and the Asian Development Bank $ 75 million to establish this institution. The money is to be provided for this programme over the next four years. In addition, Rs. 2 billion has been provided from the treasury for the start-up cost.

The Minister said that the government expects to further strengthen the digital infrastructure in the country. Even the services provided by Grama Niladharis at the rural level will be digitized and a more efficient service will be provided. He stated that the government’s aim is to take the digital process forward in a way that is accessible to the people.

“Our aim is to develop systems, for that, we have planned programmes such as strengthening networks down to the village level,” he stated.

Chief Advisor to the President on Digital Economy Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya said that ‘GovTech’ paves the way for rapidly achieving the goals of the digital economy of the country, as Sri Lanka is lagging behind in the sector, comparing to other countries of the region.

Source : Daily News