Archives

by Chanuka Wattegama

Start talking about Information and Communication Technology (ICT) developments in Sri Lanka, you will find the group automatically divides into two sectors - namely, the optimists and the pessimists. In other words, the Sri Lankan community consists of those who genuinely believe the high-tech androids with extended consciousness depicted in the movies like Steven Spielberg's 'Artificial Intelligence' and 'Minority Report', will be here tomorrow or the day after, and those who still feel to send a letter to a government department via e-mail and get a reply through the same medium you might have to wait another hundred years or more!

This can be largely attributed to the basic human nature, but there is more into it. The former group usually consists of the nerds and whiz kids of our times (not necessarily younger) while the latter consists of the veterans (usually older) who actually have witnessed how things actually happen in countries such as ours. Personally, I would have always liked to be among the optimists, but more and more frequently I find myself on the side of the pessimists. My friends - the typical IT savvy crowd - often accuse me for being too negative.

I cannot help it. Given the hype I hear and read everyday, and seeing what a small percentage of that actually materialises, I often end up wondering whether the ICT developments in this country take place at the pace it shoudl be, for a developing and ambitious nation like ours. How far have we used the ICT tools towards the development of our country? Are we getting the true benefits of these ICT tools in bridging the digital gap and making the life easier for the poorest of the poor among us?

Let me narrate one of my own experiences. Few months ago, a friend invited me to deliver a lecture at a seminar at an outstation school in the Central Province. When inquired about the expected audience he said it would be largely O/Level and some A/Level students from few nearby schools. I was expected to talk on 'Internet'. Initially, I did not agree with the topic.

I thought everyone today knows about Internet. If I too were to take this beaten track, I would appear like some outdated moron. I preferred some more technical and specific topic such as Tele-medicine or Internet banking. Still my friend was adamant. He wanted me to speak on Internet and that was it. I did not feel comfortable at all, but since he insisted, I prepared my transparencies (No multimedia projectors were available) and was ready for the day.

ICT awareness

Before starting my lecture, I decided to check the ICT awareness of the audience. I asked how many of them have used Internet or e-mail facilities. Not a single hand went up. This was not a real surprise, as the students, particularly the ones studying in the rural areas, usually do not want to express themselves, assuming if they do so the lecturer would put them into trouble by asking more questions. So I thought of using a different approach.

I asked how many of them have used a computer. To my surprise only less than one-third of the 500 plus students raised their hands. Then I half jokingly asked how many of them have seen a computer. This time many hands went up, but still there was about 10-15% of the audience, who did not respond. So there were students who have not even seen a computer! It was a challenge to deliver a lecture on Internet to an audience, a portion of which has never seen a computer, but I tried my best. I am not sure how far I have been successful in that.

This should give you the true flavour of reality, in spite of all the hype you are forced to hear and read everyday. Some ICT gurus are fond of narrating the stories of farmers at Horowpathana who perform online checks on the vegetable prices at the Pettah market using their laptops, but in reality, what we have are farmers who might commit suicide or start fasts unto death because they cannot settle loans of Rs. 10,000 or 15,000. We proudly talk about online channelling of medical specialists, but still a large percentage of our population lives even without the rudimentary heath facilities, including the toilets. (Only 73% of the Sri Lankan population has access to safe sanitation, while this figure is as low as 36% in the estate sector). After all, this is Sri Lanka and not the Silicon Valley!

Cross section

This presents a fair cross section of the country to which Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has presented the ICT Road Map, prepared under the initiation and guidance of Milinda Moragoda, Minister of Economic Reforms, Science and Technology a few weeks ago.

This ICT Road Map (basically this is the national ICT policy guidelines) is expected to trigger a quantum change in the lifestyles of a population, where the annual per capita GDP is only slightly above the price of a multimedia computer system; only 8 persons out of every 100 have telephones; one ATM is shared by 40,000 in the population, only 7 out of every 100 had used a PC and only one or two out of every 100 uses Internet facilities. Call me pessimistic, but this is nothing but the harsh reality.

These factors, by no means, trim down the importance of the introduction of national policies for Information and Communication technologies. On the other hand, the economic and social situation of Sri Lanka itself augments the need for such a set of clearly defined policies. A digitally poor nation obviously requires more methodical planning in ICT. In that exercise, an ICT Road Map can be one of the most valuable tools we can have in our hands.

As I have emphasised in a previous article ('A call for a National IT agenda' - Daily News January 03, 2002), this has been a long-felt need of the nation. I, as any other ICT professional, am quite happy that it has been materialised even at this stage.

Acid test

However, I am a bit sceptical - 'scared' might be a better word - to share the optimism associated with the ICT Road Map at this stage. There is no doubt it is a meticulously devised plan. Nevertheless, the acid test for its worth will be its feasibility. It will be judged not by any sophisticated technical marvels recommended, but by how far it will be able to transform the lifestyles of the ordinary people of this country. Nobody will be bothered about the bandwidth of the international communication lines unless such bandwidth can subsequently bring some revenue to the country. Thus the question is whether the ICT Road Map can actually achieve these practical goals. This will be seen only in future.

Further on this line, I think the ICT Road Map, as the national ICT policy of Sri Lanka should fulfil at least two key national level objectives.

Firstly, it should be directed towards the economic development of the country. An ITC policy, which does not meet this crucial intent, is not even worth the paper it is written on. Probably this is one of the witnessed drawbacks of many earlier so-called 'IT policy statements'. The question here is not how to find better ways to spend money on ICT initiatives; but how to use ICT in the best way to earn the badly needed hard cash. This is extremely important in deciding on our priorities.

What sub-categories of the ICT industry can drive the nation towards the economic prosperity within the shortest possible time? After analysing the strengths and weaknesses of each category we can arrive at only one answer: Software industry. This was the 'mantra' used by our closest neighbour to become the ICT high church, not only in the South Asia, but in the entire world as well. Given the social and economic similarities between the two countries, there is no reason for us to fail in a venture where Indians have succeeded. In fact, the opportunities since then have grown immensely and this can be the ideal moment to jump to the software development bandwagon at the national level. Perhaps tomorrow might be late as some of our other neighbours (Bangladesh and China are the best examples) are catching up super fast.

Contrary to the popular belief, what the local software industry needs most right now, is not the skilled human resources or infrastructure facilities. After years and years of continuous struggling, now we are in a position to stand neck-to-neck with other nations, as far as the resources and facilities are concerned. The need of the hour is for a strong national level marketing drive that can bring global recognition to Sri Lanka as a quality software-developing nation. This need should be sufficiently addressed by the ICT Road Map.

Technical environment

Let us just have a look at other areas too. Investing in microelectronics and hardware manufacturing (like Taiwan and Malaysia did) is still not a sound business decision, as the present infrastructure facilities are not adequate to cater the demand of the microelectronics manufacturing industry. Sometime back, a company started manufacturing memory chips, but the efforts took them nowhere, as half of the chips were found to be damaged when they were being transported to Colombo, due to poor road conditions.

Another company manufactured hard disks, but now that line too has been discontinued for reasons not known. Basically, it is the same formula that applies everywhere. We still do not have the ideal technical environment in place to meet the high quality standards sought by the microelectronics industry.

Computer Education is another sector, but it is best to leave it for the universities and the other training institutions without the government intervention. Now it stands a well-advanced sector, and quite capable to adjusting to the needs of the industry. Thus there is no real requirement for the government also to put its hand to it. Perhaps the only thing the government can do is to give a helping hand to educational institute to reach the global market.

Secondly, whatever the ICT policies the Road Map intends to implement, they should help to bridge the digital divide and not to increase it. A few years ago, the cry Kolombata kiri, gamata kekiri was common, and the last thing we need now is another such cry in the lines of Kolombata Internet, gamata kekirinet'.

Digital divide

Unfortunately, whatever the ICT developments so far taken place in Sri Lanka (and in almost all the South Asian countries as well) have largely contributed to further increase the digital divide. Just compare two fresh university entrants, one from a Colombo school and the other from a rural Madya Maha Vidyalaya. Probably, the student from Colombo might have her own computer at home, quite familiar with Internet and few computer languages and will have a good knowledge about the subject.

The student from the rural school, on the other hand, might not even have seen a computer. It is not a surprise if she sees her colleague as an alien came from a more advanced planet! The factors that introduce these gaps should be discussed separately, but one of the key objectives of ICT Road Map should be to make them disappear as soon as possible. This attempt should not be confined to providing computers to schools and then let the Principal to lock them inside a room till they become obsolete unusued.

This article is not a fault-finding mission, but we cannot just forget that this is not the first attempt by the government to draw a set of ICT policies.

There is no need to go much further into the history, but just about two years ago, a similar project was launched under the patronage of (then) Ministry of Information Technology. I had the opportunity to attend the first meeting that launched these policies and that was the end of it. I have never heard of the project again. Let us all hope, for the sake of the nation that the ICT Road Map too does not meet the same ending. First it has to take off and then it has to come down to the grass roots level to deliver the goods. Let us wish we all were fortunate enough to see that happening in the near future.

The author, a Business Consultant in IT, can be contacted at [email protected]

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager