The Government’s objective is to enhance the nation’s overall ‘Computer Literacy’ rate to 60 per cent of the country’s population, from the 25 per cent today, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.
He was speaking at the launching ceremony at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo of the 500th Nenasela Centre at Samanthurai in the Amparai District yesterday.
Recollecting the inauguration of the first ever Nenasela Centre at the Kataragama Kiriwehera Viharayastanaya in the aftermath of the tsunami in January 2005, as the then Prime Minister, President Rajapaksa said he was delighted to launch the 500th such a centre within a span of three years, in the East which was liberated from the cruel grip of the terrorists.
The President said the establishment of such centres islandwide, especially in the remotest villages, was a paradigm shift in the landscape of providing Information Technology (IT) to the nation.
"If we make the right policies, its implementation too will be easy. When I was the Prime Minister and the subject of IT was under my purview, we made a shift in policy to provide technology with a ‘new face’ by the Nenasela process, to empower the rural folk who were hitherto deprived of access to a Computer, leave alone IT.
"It is then that there could be a renaissance in the village,” he said.
The President said, his goal is to double the number of ‘Nenasela’ centres to 1,000 by the end of year 2008, and have at least three centres covering each Pradeshiya Sabha. This would be the greatest challenge and a victory for one and all.
President Rajapaksa pointed out that we have gradually attained a high-esteemed position in the sphere of IT. The village child of today enjoys a plethora of opportunities and facilities than his counterparts in the past, in the provision of English language facilities and diverse Websites among others.
In the provision of Government services, tri-lingual facilities in providing Government and citizens’ information are now freely available during the day, especially following an era our public services were heavily criticised, for their lethargic services in the past.
"At present, ‘Death Certificates’ and the like could be obtained within five minutes in our Government offices.
According to a recent survey, the project has been placed second in the international competition, where the Hong Kong Police Information Division is placed first. However, to achieve that standard, Hong Kong has had an outlay of HK dollars 122 million, whereas Sri Lanka has had less than rupees 10 million”, he added.
The ‘Nenasela’ initiative had commenced via a concept of President Rajapaksa, to provide ICT access to the rural sector and is implemented by the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA), under the e-Sri Lanka initiative.
The occasion was also marked by the ICTA who in collaboration with the Philatelic Bureau of the Department of Posts and Telecommunications, issued a postage stamp priced at rupees five.
The e-Sri Lanka initiative uses information and communication technology to develop the economy of Sri Lanka, alleviate poverty and enhance the quality of life for its people.
The ‘Nenasela’ programme under this initiative has enabled the rural folk to not only access the ICTs but has also opened new horizons in the sphere of technology, for them and their offspring.
ICTs such as the Internet, e-mail, facsimile, photocopiers and computers are freely available, mostly in urban areas, and are now available at ‘Nenasela’ set up islandwide, in 23 districts.
‘Nenasela’ have also provided opportunities to the communities of the areas, to gain knowledge and access to new opportunities in their businesses for economic development.
Courtesy: The Daily News (Colombo) of 5 January 2008
