Making Sri Lanka a logistics hub:

Inter Ministerial Task Force vital

Making Sri Lanka a logistics hub and one of the top ten places to do business is the need of the hour. This could be done by setting up an Inter Ministerial Task Force, e-Services Lanka Chief Executive Officer Vinesh Athukorala said yesterday. He was speaking to the media at the Sri Lanka Tourist Board Auditorium (SLTB) on the benefits of online facility given to the SLTB by eServices Lanka.

There should be an apex body to monitor the activities related to automation and this ministerial task force will be able to do it successfully he said.

He proposed that all Government departments should follow the example of Sri Lanka Tea Board in doing this to facilitate trade to be competitive.

SLTB Chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi said he is hopeful of achieving a place in the first ten of Best in Class in South Asia following the automation of the processes of Customs documentation.

He said that the automation Sri Lanka has got the 65th place in the World Bank Doing Business 2009/2010. Trading Across Borders Best in Class- South Asia report.

It will not be difficult to come within the first 10 in the future, he said. Referring to the benefits of automating the Customs documentation process, he said the re-engineering process has simplified procedures at the Tea Board by stopping the acceptance of manual supporting documents and adopting digital signature as approvals.

This has enabled a saving of US$ 2 in terms of time and money for tea exports.

The lodgment fee of Rs 100 per Cusdec sheet has also been cancelled when submitting online.

Hettiarachchi said the automation system has also reduced approval time by one to two hours based on approval procedures at the Sri Lanka Tea Board. There is a better control for Government Departments to manage better service with a limited staff.

“Information security of sensitive blend sheet information of all tea exporters has been guaranteed as a result of online submission,” he said.

RK