September 22, 2004—A country battered by a civil war is being transformed into a country ready to reap the fruits of growth, equity, and peace. This is the vision of e-Sri Lanka, a path-breaking Bank development project that will use Information Communication Technology (ICT) as a key enabler of this transformation.
 | Children learning to use computers at a telecenter located in a Buddhist temple, in the outskirts of Colombo |
The Board approved e-Sri Lanka on September 21, 2004, making it the first development project the Bank has funded to use ICT in a comprehensive, multi-sector approach in support of a country development strategy. It is hoped the project will be a catalyst for the e-development of Sri Lanka, and a model for other developing countries. About 200 Telecenters will be established in rural areas to serve the local population consisting of farmers, students, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), women, and youth. Using the Telecenters, farmers in villages will be able to find out the best prices for their crops via the Internet and successfully negotiate with buyers. The “Chief Innovation Officers,” a new cadre created within government, will be tasked with promoting ICT-enabled process innovation to improve service delivery to citizens and businesses. The CIOs’ goal is to achieve e-Sri Lanka’s vision: to be “the most connected government to its people.” Utilizing ICT to enable growth, equity, and peace e-Sri Lanka’s vision involves leveraging ICT to improve public service delivery, increasing private sector competitiveness, promoting new sources of growth, accelerating social development, bridging the digital divide, and promoting peace. As Peter Harrold, the Sri Lanka Country Director, says, “e-Sri Lanka focuses on promoting the three core objectives of Sri Lanka’s Country Assistance Strategy (CAS): growth, equity, and peace. This is done through creating connectivity across the country, making information accessible to the poor, supporting growth of the ICT sector, and generating efficiencies in key sectors such as agriculture.” Improving the lives of the poor through technology “We are at the threshold of a very exciting journey. The journey is not about technology … but about changing the lives of our people, and about releasing the full potential of Sri Lanka,” comments Manju Haththotuwa, CEO of the ICT Agency of Sri Lanka. Six programs are being implemented: ICT policy, leadership, and institutional development; ICT human resources development and industry promotion; regional telecommunications network; telecenter development; reengineering government; and e-Society. Through these six programs, the project will create a more effective, citizen-centered, and business-friendly government and empower the rural poor, disabled, women, and youth through increased and affordable access to information and communication tools. It will also develop ICT literacy and leadership, while creating employment opportunities via the ICT industry and ICT-enabled services. According to Praful Patel, Vice President of the South Asia Region, “ICT helps to carry out the vision of the Bank, which is to get people out of poverty, by creating access to basic services and generating employment opportunities.” Integrating communities for equity  | | Empowering government employees in the Matale District by providing training on the use of ICT |
e-Sri Lanka has the potential to integrate different communities and regions through the equitable use of ICT, especially in the current tenuous post-war or peace negotiation environment. The project proposes to create an e-Society to connect and empower the most vulnerable groups in Sri Lanka, and particularly assist in closing gaps between urban and rural areas and integrating post-conflict regions. One way in which this will be achieved is through the Telecenter Development Program, which focuses on empowering the population in poor rural areas of the South, North, and East of Sri Lanka through affordable community access to ICTs. The e-Government program seeks to improve the government’s efficiency, transparency, effectiveness, and quality of services. ICT leadership is critical for re-engineering processes and sustaining the project. Therefore, an ICT Agency has been formed to provide leadership and coordinate implementation of e-Sri Lanka. The Bank’s role The Bank has been a key player in charting the e-Sri Lanka vision. The government of Sri Lanka requested the Bank to assist in mustering support from the donor community, to help pilot distance learning centers, and to incorporate international best practices in project implementation. The Bank mobilized a multi-skilled team from different units to support this project, including ISG, GICT, and SAR. e-Sri Lanka takes a comprehensive approach to using ICT for overall development by promoting the growth of this promising sector, and more importantly by using ICT as an enabler for all the key sectors in the economy and society. Consequently, as Nagy Hanna, the e-Sri Lanka Task Team Leader and Senior Advisor on e-Development in ISGVP, says, “a comprehensive e-Development approach is likely to expedite the effective adoption of new technologies and to secure the complementary policies, institutional reforms, and corresponding investments in human resources.” |
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