The Role of Technology in Promoting Inclusive and Transparent Governance in Sri Lanka
Abstract
This study investigates the role of e-governance in promoting more transparency and inclusiveness in the public sector of Sri Lanka. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of such initiatives, like the e-Sri Lanka program, based on semi-structured interviews with policymakers, ICT experts, and citizens in Sri Lanka, supported by secondary data analysis. These findings indicate that automation cuts down corruption and, consequently, greatly improves the aspects of transparency, while significant digital literacy divides exist, along with other forms of infrastructure and questions of trust, especially among rural populations and other deprived groups of citizens. The study thus calls for holistic policy reforms, selective infrastructure development, and capacity-building programs as a prerequisite for overcoming these barriers. Emphasizing data protection and public-private partnership, the research underlines the need to align technological solutions with socio-economic realities across diverse populations. By addressing these gaps, Sri Lanka can unlock the full power of e-governance to enable effective, equitable, and transparent governance.
References
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41. Withanage, P., Gunawardena, L. and Endagamage, D.M. (2022) ‘Why the Utilization of E-Government Services is Poor?–A study with the Citizens in Colombo Municipal Council Area in Sri Lanka’, Integrated Journal for Research in Arts and Humanities, 2, pp. 7–13.
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2. Bandaranayake, R., Ramasoota, P., Natesan, A. and Suriyawongkul, A. (2021) ‘Health-Related Information and COVID-19: A Study of Sri Lanka and Thailand’, Available at SSRN 3877617 [Preprint]. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Arthit-Suriyawongkul/publication/352989748_Health-Related_Information_and_COVID-19_A_Study_of_Sri_Lanka_and_Thailand/links/60fed9cd0c2bfa282a01e4e8/Health-Related-Information-and-COVID-19-A-Study-of-Sri-Lanka-and-Thailand.pdf (Accessed: 21 December 2024).
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5. Baxevani, T. (2019) ‘GDPR Overview’. Thessaloniki, Greece: Alexander Technological Educational Institute of …. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Theodora-Baxevani/publication/333560686_GDPR_Overview/links/5cf3f4b7299bf1fb1852fba1/GDPR-Overview (Accessed: 3 June 2024).
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11. Damayanthi, M.N. (2017) ‘Challenges of Local Governments in Rural Development in Sri Lanka.’ Department of Philosophy, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Available at: http://repository.kln.ac.lk/bitstream/handle/123456789/17704/107-120.pdf?sequence=1 (Accessed: 25 November 2024).
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14. Fakis, A., Hilliam, R., Stoneley, H. and Townend, M. (2014) ‘Quantitative Analysis of Qualitative Information From Interviews: A Systematic Literature Review’, Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 8(2), pp. 139–161. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/1558689813495111.
15. Fernando, R.L.S. and Gunasekara, H.O.C. (2023) ‘Public Value and Level of e-Government in Sri Lanka: Problems and Prospects’, International Journal of Governance and Public Policy Analysis, 5(02). Available at: http://journals.sjp.ac.lk/index.php/ijgppa/article/view/7256 (Accessed: 20 December 2024).
16. Freedom House (2022) Sri Lanka: Freedom on the Net 2022 Country Report, Freedom House. Available at: https://freedomhouse.org/country/sri-lanka/freedom-net/2022 (Accessed: 21 December 2024).
17. Froehlich, A., Ringas, N. and Wilson, J. (2020) ‘E-Governance in Africa and the World’, in A. Froehlich, N. Ringas, and J. Wilson, Space Supporting Africa. Cham: Springer International Publishing (Studies in Space Policy), pp. 53–124. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52260-5_2.
18. Greenleaf, G. (2019) ‘Advances in South Asian data privacy laws: Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Nepal’, Pakistan and Nepal (December 1, 2019), pp. 22–25.
19. Hardy, A. (2024) ‘Estonia’s digital diplomacy: Nordic interoperability and the challenges of cross-border e-governance’, Internet Policy Review, 13(3), pp. 1–31.
20. Hartanto, D., Dalle, J., Akrim, A. and Anisah, H.U. (2021) ‘Perceived effectiveness of e-governance as an underlying mechanism between good governance and public trust: a case of Indonesia’, Digital Policy, Regulation And Governance, 23(6), pp. 598–616.
21. Heeks, R. (2017) Information and communication technology for development (ICT4D). Routledge. Available at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315652603/information-communication-technology-development-ict4d-richard-heeks (Accessed: 21 December 2024).
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27. Margetts, H. and Dunleavy, P. (2013) ‘The second wave of digital-era governance: a quasi-paradigm for government on the Web’, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 371(1987), p. 20120382. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsta.2012.0382.
28. Nedungadi, P.P., Menon, R., Gutjahr, G., Erickson, L. and Raman, R. (2018) ‘Towards an inclusive digital literacy framework for digital India’, Education+ Training, 60(6), pp. 516–528.
29. Rainford, S. (2006) ‘e-Sri Lanka: An integrated approach to e-government case study’, Regional Development Dialogue, 27(2), pp. 209–218.
30. Rajapakse, J. (2013) ‘e-government adoptions in developing countries: a Sri Lankan case study’, International Journal of Electronic Government Research (IJEGR), 9(4), pp. 38–55.
31. Ramesh, R., Pradeep, H.U.S. and Ranjith, H. (2019) ‘Problems and Issues in Enhancing Transparency and Accountability in Local Government: Empirical Evidence from Ambagamuwa Pradheshiya Sabha in Nuwaraeliya District of Sri Lanka’. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pradeep Uluwaduge/publication/335789326_Problems_and_Issues_in_Enhancing_Transparency_and_Accountability_in_Local_Government_Empirical_Evidence_from_Ambagamuwa_Pradheshiya_Sabha_in_Nuwaraeliya_District_of_Sri_Lanka/links/5d7b2ba2299bf1d5a970bca5/Problems-and-Issues-in-Enhancing-Transparency-and-Accountability-in-Local-Government-Empirical-Evidence-from-Ambagamuwa-Pradheshiya-Sabha-in-Nuwaraeliya-District-of-Sri-Lanka.pdf (Accessed: 25 November 2024).
32. Rao, U. and Nair, V. (2019) ‘Aadhaar: Governing with Biometrics’, South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies, 42(3), pp. 469–481. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2019.1595343.
33. Seljan, S., Miloloža, I. and Pejić Bach, M. (2020) ‘e-Government in European countries: gender and ageing digital divide’, Interdisciplinary Management Research, 16, pp. 1563–1584.
34. Senarathna, K.A. (2023) ‘The Future of Public Administration in Sri Lanka’, Available at SSRN 4565531 [Preprint]. Available at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4565531 (Accessed: 21 December 2024).
35. Shaeffer, S. (2019) ‘Inclusive education: a prerequisite for equity and social justice’, Asia Pacific Education Review, 20(2), pp. 181–192. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-019-09598-w.
36. Tennakoon, W. (2020) ‘E-governance way forward: challenges and opportunities for developing countries. Evidences from Sri Lanka’, International Journal of Business, Economics and Law, 21(2), pp. 51–61.
37. TISL (2022) ‘TISL REPORTS – Transparency International Sri Lanka’. Available at: https://www.tisrilanka.org/tisl-reports-books/ (Accessed: 25 January 2023).
38. UNDP (2024) Human Development Report 2023-24, Human Development Reports. United Nations. Available at: https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2023-24 (Accessed: 20 December 2024).
39. United Nations (2015) THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development. Available at: https://sdgs.un.org/goals (Accessed: 7 February 2024).
40. Weerasena, A. and Jayathilaka, R. (2023) ‘Is the best option still in low adoption? An investigation on factors affecting the adoption of online school education in rural areas in Sri Lanka’, Educational technology research and development, 71(3), pp. 1371–1390. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-023-10201-8.
41. Withanage, P., Gunawardena, L. and Endagamage, D.M. (2022) ‘Why the Utilization of E-Government Services is Poor?–A study with the Citizens in Colombo Municipal Council Area in Sri Lanka’, Integrated Journal for Research in Arts and Humanities, 2, pp. 7–13.
42. World Bank (2016) Does e-government improve government capacity evidence from tax administration and public procurement. Global Information and Communication Technologies Department, The World Bank Group.
43. 와산타 (2023) Measuring the Government Employees E-Satisfaction from the E-Government Services in the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. PhD Thesis. 서울대학교 대학원. Available at: https://s-space.snu.ac.kr/handle/10371/194470 (Accessed: 21 December 2024).
Authors
[1]
“The Role of Technology in Promoting Inclusive and Transparent Governance in Sri Lanka”, Soc. sci. humanities j., vol. 8, no. 12, pp. 6223–6235, Dec. 2024, doi: 10.18535/sshj.v8i12.1556.
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