'Updated databases make lives simple'

Properly maintained databases make people's lives simple, comfortable and enjoyable said Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga

He was speaking at the National Conference ICT Policy for Government held at the Ceylon Continental Hotel in Colombo last Saturday.

Around 70 top officials comprising secretaries, additional secretaries of Ministries and their Chief Innovation Officers participated at the event.

The Secretary said that the foreign countries, including ICT giants like India were in high praise of Sri Lanka 's ICT achievements, the world awards won and Sri Lanka 's flagship project, namely the Government Information Centre (1919).

Some of these countries even want to learn from some of our projects and adopt them in their countries, including the GIC and LGN which consists in linking all Government institutions.

Weeratunga said that in one instance the great success of 1919 saved him from embarrassment.

One leader had told him that when he accessed a Sri Lankan Government institution website, he found that it had not been updated.

However the service provided by 1919 was able to compensate for some of the flaws of the websites of some Government institutions.

The Secretary said that the excellence of one project was no excuse for imperfection in other projects and he would request Secretaries of all Ministries to ensure that the websites of their Ministries were updated as soon as possible.

Giving a comprehensive overview of the legal framework of the e-Government policy to the participants at the conference, President's Counsel, Attorney General Mohan Peiris said that ICT could turn the course of history if we would be adventurous and make use of the e-Government policy.

Justice Ministry Secretary Suhada Gamlath P.C. the guest speaker gave an explanation of computer crimes in simple language.

Gamlath said that ICTA's legal advisor Jayantha Fernando deserved special plaudits for his special contribution towards the enactment of the Computer Crimes Act No.24 of 2007.

ICTA Chairman Professor P. W. Epasinge said that the Secretaries, Additional Secretaries and the Chief Innovation Officers of Ministries were the best officials for being effectively instrumental in implementing the e-Government policy.