Sri Lankan President Calls for Unified Digital System for Public Services

Colombo, The Gulf Observer: Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has directed officials to establish a unified national digital system covering the country’s public services, with the aim of improving efficiency, transparency and accessibility for citizens.

The directive was issued during a progress review meeting at the Presidential Secretariat on the digitalisation of local authorities and Divisional Secretariats. The President emphasized that separate digital systems operated independently by different government institutions should be brought under a coordinated national framework.

President Dissanayake instructed the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government and the Ministry of Digital Economy to work closely on developing the integrated system. Three officers from the Ministry of Digital Economy are also to be assigned to support the further development of the system, identify shortcomings and introduce necessary improvements.

The meeting reviewed plans to digitalise services provided by Divisional Secretariats, with a model programme to be implemented in one district before being expanded nationwide. More than 300 public services are expected to be brought into the digital framework, connecting administrative operations from the Grama Niladhari level to District Secretariats.

The government is also working to expand digital services covering local authority rates and other payments, shop rentals, utility bills, bookings of public facilities, permits and licences, as well as mechanisms for handling public complaints. The “GovHR” platform for public-sector human resource management and further development of GovPay were also reviewed.

The initiative is consistent with Sri Lanka’s broader digital-government strategy, which envisages a single access point for public services and common digital infrastructure to reduce duplication and enable more seamless service delivery.