Sri Lanka, like many other countries, is currently facing a number of economic and social challenges. One of the main issues is the high level of corruption in the political system and Government sector, which has led to inefficiencies and limited economic growth. Additionally, the private sector in Sri Lanka has been slow to adopt new technologies, which has further hindered economic development.
Blockchain technology has the potential to address many of these challenges and help Sri Lanka achieve sustainable economic growth.
Blockchain is a decentralised data storage model within a network of computers and servers. It is secure, transparent, and tamper-proof, which makes it an ideal technology for use in the Government and private sectors.
Furthermore, blockchain can be used in State-owned enterprises such as the SriLankan Airlines, the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), and the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC), in order to improve transparency and reduce corruption to run the organisations on profit which at present causes major losses to the Government of Sri Lanka.
In short, blockchain technology has the potential to address many of Sri Lanka’s economic and social challenges by increasing transparency, security, and efficiency in the Government and private sectors. It is crucial therefore for Sri Lanka to adopt blockchain technology in order to achieve sustainable economic growth and development.
The Government sector
The Government sector in Sri Lanka is controlled by over 400 Government institutions, departments, and ministries. However, the majority of them still rely on manual processes, which leads to issues such as corruption, lack of productivity, inefficiency, lack of accountability, and a lack of regular audits. To overcome these challenges, cost-effective, one-stop solutions need to be implemented quickly across all Government organisations. Recently, there was an incident of data manipulation and deletion within a health sector organisation (a reference to the National Medicines Regulatory Authority). With the implementation of blockchain, such misconducts can be prevented as the data stored in blockchain is tamper-proof, immutable, and cannot be reversed, deleted or tampered with. Blockchain can be used to improve transparency and efficiency in various areas such as voting systems, public record-keeping, tax collection, and procurement processes. By using blockchain, the Government can ensure that records are secure and tamper-proof, which will, in turn, increase trust and confidence in Government operations. Blockchain can also be used to create a decentralised system for public record keeping and to increase transparency in Government operations. In procurement, blockchain can be used to create a transparent and tamper-proof system for tracking the purchase of goods and services, which would help to reduce fraud and increase efficiency.
The healthcare sector
The healthcare sector in Sri Lanka is facing major issues, primarily with Government supplies. Despite standard procurement systems in place, these procedures are often undermined by corrupt Government officials and politicians in the sector, who manipulate artificial drug shortages in storage units across the island to bypass the standard procedures to purchase drugs at higher prices to meet urgent requirements. Another major issue is the lack of centralised patient records, which prevents patients from easily accessing their health information and consultants from easily accessing patient information at hospitals. All Government hospitals still keep patient health records manually. Additionally, there is a lack of a centralised system to analyse national drug requirements in the private sector. Blockchain technology can be used to address these issues by securely storing and sharing patient health records, which would improve the efficiency of care and reduce the likelihood of errors. Additionally, blockchain can be used to track the supply chain of medications, which would, in turn, help prevent counterfeit drugs from entering the market.
The real estate sector
The real estate sector in Sri Lanka is facing major challenges due to the manual process of ownership transfer within the Registrar General’s Department. Additionally, legal disputes related to real estate often take a long time to resolve due to the difficulty in accessing historical ownership-related data. Furthermore, the Government has difficulty collecting taxes on property transfers due to manual transaction management, which results in lost revenue. The collection of taxes on Government owned properties is also a major issue in the real estate sector. Blockchain technology can be used to address many of these issues by creating tamper-proof land registries, thereby improving transparency and efficiency in property transactions. Additionally, blockchain can be used to track the ownership and transfer of properties, which would help to prevent fraud and errors and to reduce the workload for the Ministry of Justice.
The power and energy sector
The power and energy sector in Sri Lanka is facing major issues, including the loss-making status of the CEB and CPC due to corruption, delays in decision-making, the lack of futuristic strategic planning, the high salary structures for a large number of employees compared to other Government sector organisations, political involvement in excessive staffing, delays in adding new power plants to the system, the lack of investment in new power plants, delays in transitioning to the renewable energy sector, and inadequate accountability and auditing. Blockchain technology can be used to create a decentralised and secure system for addressing these issues and managing the distribution and consumption of energy efficiently. By using blockchain, almost all of the above issues in the power and energy sector can be addressed and a more efficient and sustainable system for powering homes, transportation, businesses, and industries can be created.
The agriculture sector
The agriculture sector in Sri Lanka is facing major issues, including over 40% of waste during transportation, poor yield management, and overproduction. Intermediaries often maintain high margins without passing on a reasonable value to the farmers. Additionally, farmers have limited access to market prices, and since they lack capital investment for farming, they rely heavily on loans from buyers. Access to the latest technology and proper education on traditional and bio-organic solutions are also challenges. However, properly designed blockchain applications can address many of these issues. Blockchain can be used to track the origin and movement of agricultural products, thus increasing transparency and traceability in the supply chain. It can also be used to create digital contracts between farmers, processors, and buyers, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing transaction costs.
Overall, blockchain technology can help Sri Lanka achieve development by providing greater transparency, security, and efficiency in almost all sectors.
(The writer is the Chairman and Founder of the Java Institute for Advanced Technologies and the Technology Entrepreneurship and Management Co-operative Development Banking Society Ltd., and is a former Consultant to the Monetary Policy Consultative Committee of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.)
…………………………………………………………….
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication.