The Hon. Amila Prasad

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, today we are discussing a very important subject accompanying a Vote Head. The people, especially the youth, expected major transformation from this government. Today’s debate is on reforms at a key ministry central to that transformation: digitalization.

¶ 02 Digitalization is new to much of our population, though not new to the world. The Government’s first responsibility is to build public trust and awareness—explain what digitalization means. I saw Rs. 300 million allocated for this effort. In my view that is insufficient, but as a start, it should be used as much as possible for public awareness and related tasks. If more can be allocated, it would help set the foundation for the prosperous country we seek.

¶ 03 What is digitalization? It can be described in three parts: - Digital governance: new laws and regulations are needed to strengthen the process. - Core digitalization: passports, IDs, etc. There has been much debate about the risk of biometric data going abroad. It is true data security must be taken seriously. Today, data has become the most traded commodity in the world; robust safeguards and clarity on where data is stored and who is responsible are essential. We must have confidence in the Government’s commitments for this process to move forward. - Online commerce: the largest portion. How do we generate new jobs via online platforms? How do we complement physical trade with online platforms?

¶ 04 Digitalization is essential for the public service. We are still delayed by inefficiencies. Over the last 76 years, many reforms that should have taken place—particularly in the 2002–2005 period—were delayed by about two decades, contributing to our inefficiency.

¶ 05 Today, to obtain a driving licence, people queue for long hours; systems are not integrated with police to check past violations; processes remain manual and slow. Even getting a police certificate takes time. Recently, at a Divisional Secretariat in Hambantota, people could not obtain birth certificates due to poor inter-agency document flows and delays. Our society comprises people at different knowledge levels; they come during their busy schedules expecting quick service, but the system fails them. The cause is the delay in implementing digitalization.

¶ 06 Even Parliament should be digitized—pilot it here, because Members are willing and motivated. Bringing digitalization to the state sector will increase efficiency; that is inevitable and necessary. However, we must be honest: digitalization will reduce certain government jobs. We cannot do reforms by hiding the truth. Some roles will become redundant when processes are computerized. I expected the Government to address this directly.

¶ 07 With basic salaries and pensions increased, those whose posts become redundant could retire with good pensions. We can reduce the size and burden of the public service without treating workers unfairly—redeploy where needed, and allow earlier, better-funded retirement where appropriate. This is good policy.

¶ 08 Do not scaremonger. In the past, when we pursued economic management, some claimed “EPF will be destroyed” and “the banking system will collapse.” We do not engage in fearmongering. We tell the truth to the people. We will not create unions of redundant workers to agitate against you. This must be done through your government. After you make the country prosperous, as an opposition movement aspiring to govern in future, we need these reforms advanced now. Be bold. Only a movement like yours can enhance state-sector efficiency through digitalization. If you were in opposition with a statist posture, we could not get this done. In the next five years, invest and implement these reforms—we have faith in reform.