Sri Lanka, UN discuss wide-ranging reforms in digital governance drive

Colombo, May 20 (Daily Mirror) - A wide-ranging bilateral discussion was held between the Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Professor Chandana Abayarathne, and UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka Marc-André Franche, focusing on accelerating Sri Lanka’s digital governance, institutional reforms, and disaster management systems.

The meeting, held on Tuesday (18) at the Ministry premises in Colombo, reviewed progress on the ‘OneRegistry’ programme aimed at digitalising Sri Lanka’s Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system. Officials confirmed that a Cabinet paper on CRVS reform is expected to be presented to the Cabinet next week.

According to discussions, the UNDP- and World Health Organization (WHO)-supported initiative has already completed system mapping, capacity building, and baseline surveys, with full project completion targeted for November 2027.

UN Resident Coordinator Franche noted that supporting programmes, including UNDP mobile clinic initiatives, have received international recognition, including commendation at UN Headquarters in New York.

The talks also covered training public officers and strengthening infrastructure, with plans to equip 336 Divisional Secretariats with computers and printers. The WHO has reportedly agreed to provide the required printers as part of the digital transformation drive.

Registrar General S. Jaladeepan briefed that training programmes under the ‘One Chip Fellowship’ are underway to shift administrative attitudes towards digital systems, while a regulatory review committee has been appointed to modernise digital platform frameworks.

Discussions further highlighted the need to empower Divisional Secretaries in disaster response and recovery operations, alongside plans to implement a national waste management strategy with UN support. The Kaduwela Municipal Council was cited as a model for its waste-to-energy initiative developed with UNDP assistance.

The meeting also highlighted progress on establishing four sectoral dispute resolution forums covering Energy, Education, Health, and Transport, following Cabinet approval for a multi-sector conflict resolution mechanism.

In addition, UNDP support for electoral reforms was discussed, including assistance to the Election Commission to improve efficiency in vote counting and administrative processes. The first meeting of the electoral reform committee is expected to be convened shortly.