Comments on: World Bank wanted cyber-cafes for rich; we implemented ‘Nenasalas’ for poor – Sri Lanka Minister

By: Rohan Samarajiva

Rohan Samarajiva — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:45:16 +0000

Thanks for that. We had linked to the video back when it came out at: http://lirneasia.net/2009/07/were-the-original-e-sri-lanka-telecenters-urban-or-rural/

By: Sanjana Hattotuwa

Sanjana Hattotuwa — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 08:11:30 +0000

The Minister explains this comment in detail in a video interview with him conducted about one and a half months ago. He also goes on to point out the salient features of the Year of English and IT, but has simply no clue about leveraging the potential of mobile phones for development, education and better governance.

See http://www.groundviews.org/2009/07/03/interview-with-prof-tissa-vitharana-on-the-13th-amendment-constitutional-reform-it-and-english-language/

By: poorICTA

poorICTA — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:52:58 +0000

ICTA today is funny and ESL has made more enemies than friends.

By: Ray Mama

Ray Mama — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:31:53 +0000

Rasaputhra is resigning from Airport job!!!! Will he quit the job at the Kirimandala Mw. Office too? Will we see the next 500 nanasalas in Kamburupitiya???

ගුවන් සේවා සමාගමේ සභාපති රාසපුත්‍ර අස්වේ
03/26/2009 10:23

ඡන්දෙ ඉල්ලන්න කඹුරුපිටියට යයි

මාර්තු,26,(විමසුම) – චන්දිම රාසපුත්‍ර මහතා ගුවන්තොටුපොළ හා ගුවන් සේවා සමාගමේ සභාපති ධූරයෙන් ඉල්ලා අස්වීමේ ලිපිය භාරදී තිබේ.

“විමසුම” වෙත වි‍ශේෂ ප්‍රකාශයක් කරමින් ඒ මහතා සඳහන් කළේ, මෙම ඉල්ලා අස්වීම රජය භාරගැනීමට නියමිත බවයි.

තමා මෙම ධූරයෙන් ඉවත් වන්නේ, කඹුරුපිටිය ආසනයේ ශ්‍රීලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂ සංවිධායක ධූරය භාරගැනීමට බව රාසපුත්‍ර මහතා “විමසුම” ට කීය.

ගුවන්තොටුපොළ හා ගුවන් සේවා සමාගම දවසේ පැය 24 පුරාම වැඩකරන සමාගමක් නිසා එහි සභාපති ධූරය දරමින් දේශපාලනය කළ නොහැකි බවත් ඉදිරියේදී එන දකුණු පළාත් සභා මැතිවරණය සඳහා ඉදිරිපත්වීමේ බලාපොරොත්තුවක් තිබෙන බවත් හෙතෙම සඳහන් කළේය.

By: Mera Naam Raaju

Mera Naam Raaju — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 07:20:11 +0000

Is anyone who was hired for ICTA after the one in DC is doing better than him today?

By: Rohan Samarajiva

Rohan Samarajiva — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:45:07 +0000

I interviewed more than one person and more than two.

By: Insider

Insider — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 07:37:33 +0000

The invertebrate in DC is one thing. But I think the good professor is ALSO referring to the current COO (or is he acting CEO) who was one of the original hires into ICTA as Director (to handle Nenasala and RTN programs). He was always good at pleasing his bosses. So no one should be surprised when he blindly toes the crooked line. This gentleman was someone who never crossed his former CEO (the invertebrate in DC’s) path and blindly supported him. But once former CEO fell out of favor and got kicked out, went around Colombo claiming how he and the Legal Advisor to ICTA had to “save ICTA” from the former CEO’s doings. The only man with a vertebra at ICTA used to Wasantha Deshapriya. But I hear his backbone too has succumbed to constant beating.

By: Danny Boyle

Danny Boyle — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 04:36:11 +0000

Samarajiva,

The invertebrate you recruited is now in DC – after all his tricks to continue failed. I hear he is about to be axed again soon because of recession.

The present invertebrates are recruited by other invertebrates, not by you.

By: Rohan Samarajiva

Rohan Samarajiva — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 13:46:12 +0000

If Minister Vitharana wants to know the facts, he can always ask the Minister who brought the e Sri Lanka money into Sri Lanka, Mr Milinda Moragoda, who is in Cabinet with him (if he can find him in the crowd of 108). Minister Moragoda successfully resisted the pressure of the Colombo software mafia who wanted the eSL resources kept for their sole enjoyment. His vision was to do for the rural areas with ICTs, what President Premadasa did with garment factories.

The feasibility studies that we conducted on rural areas must be in ICTA files; the open debates we had on the need to build sustainable telecenters must be in people’s memories (because they were loud!). I can categorically state that we planned NO telecenters in cities.

Why the people at ICTA who know the truth do not have the backbone to correct the Minister is what puzzles me. They used to have spines when I interviewed them for their jobs. But all the bowing and scraping in the past few years must have turned them into invertebrates.

I see that Minister Vitharana is afflicted with what used to be called the Dudley syndrome. For ideological or other reasons a politician believes something that has no foundation in reality. He is not corrected by the toady officials who surround him. He does not correct his error but keeps digging himself into a bigger hole. When he is buried, the same officials are the first to heap scorn on him.

My sympathies to both the Minister and the newly invertebrate.