Harsha proposes use of mobile phones to counter fraud

UNP MP and its key spokesman on economic affairs Harsha de Silva was the only politician from over 20 countries invited to speak at a recently-concluded global conference on impact and policy.

At the forum he proposed that the impact of dynamically disseminating relevant information on elected officals among the public using mobile phones be scientifically tested as a measure to discourage fraud and malpractice.

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at the Department of Economics at MIT and the Institute for Poverty Action, two-well respected organisations working on evaluating poverty programs using highly technical criteria, organised the event with the Asian Development Bank in Bangkok Thailand last week.

Findings of a number of research projects using randomised evaluations on the success of various programs in improving governance, financial inclusion and entrepreneurship in countries from South America to Africa to Eastern Europe to Asia were discussed at this forum, attended by academics from prestigious academic institutions around the world.

Speaking at a panel chaired by just retired Chief Elections Commissioner of India Dr. S.Y. Quraishi, de Silva also spoke on the need for rigorous research to be conducted on the outcomes of on quotas for women’s participation as candidates for elected office besides his proposal on introducing information technology to enforce accountability of elected officials.