Budget boosts ICT4 development in all sectors – Minister Siyambalpitiya

Saturday, 26 November 2011 01:13 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The 2011 budget contains several proposals which are a shot in the arm for using ICT in all sectors targeting national development, according to Telecommunication and Information Technology Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.

The Minister said so while participating as Chief Guest at the e-Swabhimani 2011 Awards presentation held at Water’s Edge in Colombo last Tuesday.

Continuing the address the Minister said that through the budget His Excellency the President had assigned a pivotal role to ICT and the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA).

Participating in the occasion as Guest of Honour President’s Secretary Lalith Weeratunga said that the President had always championed the use of ICT in all sectors aimed at national development. This, the Secretary said, had resulted in several strides in ICT for national development in several sectors including education, public administration and private enterprise.

ICTA which, he said, he always appreciated as the apex institution ensuring ICT4 development was doing a great service as was also manifested by the e-Swabhimani 2011 event. Ever keen on thinking up creative ways for implementing the President’s concept of making the benefits of ICT reach the village, ICTA initiated e-Swabghimani two years ago.

This third e-Swabhimani event has shown improvement on the previous two especially from the point of view of the e-content projects emanating from the creators themselves in their milieus. With each phase we should ask ourselves what more we could do to improve the comfort of the people through the use of ICT.

Recently we saw inauguration of the Internet speed testing facility developed by the TRC. On the same lines, I would urge that the broadband facility is actually made available island-wide yielding the purported level of efficacy, Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga urged.

Participating in the occasion ICTA CEO Reshan Dewapura placed e-Swabhimani in its perspective about pointing out the event’s theme ‘7 years of e-Sri Lanka and the growth of the e-Society’ and saying: “As clearly articulated in our government’s policy ‘Mahinda Chinthana – the Vision for the Future’, it is important to recognise and give prominence to local talent, local skills and local innovations and also to recognise these talents in a very progressive manner.

e-Swabhimani is aimed at doing just that, and we are indeed proud to host this process, culminating in this event, for the third year in succession, firmly establishing the future and the progression of the local e-content industry.

e-Sri Lanka, our National e-Development Initiative, has been in progress for the last seven years.

This has been a program that all stake-holders in the ICT sector have been contributing to selflessly, and implementing tirelessly.

It has generated great impacts for the target beneficiaries, while fashioning many successes and achievements for the country.”