The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) has raised serious concerns over gaps in the management of Sri Lanka’s archaeological heritage, stressing the urgent need for a centralized data system and timely updates to the Department of Archaeology’s official website.
The COPA Committee emphasized the necessity of maintaining a centralized data system containing comprehensive information on antiquities and archaeological excavations.
This matter was discussed when COPA met in Parliament this week (06 Jan), under the chairmanship of MP Kabir Hashim, to examine the Auditor General’s Reports for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023 relating to the Department of Archaeology, as well as the department’s current performance.
The Committee recalled that at its meeting held in October 2023, it had recommended the establishment and maintenance of a data system incorporating information on all archaeological excavation sites in the country, discoveries made through such excavations, the success or failure of those excavations, whether further excavations should be continued, and details of other locations requiring excavation.
When the Chair inquired into the current progress, the officials present stated that a comprehensive database containing all such information has not yet been established, and that a data system is currently maintained only in relation to excavation permits.
Accordingly, the Committee stressed that it is critically important to establish and continuously update such a data system, and informed officials that COPA is prepared to provide assistance if required. The COPA Chair further emphasized the importance of assigning a sufficient number of IT officers to the Department of Archaeology.
Officials informed the Committee that although approval had been granted by the Department of Management Services to recruit 12 IT officers, currently only one officer is in service, and that officer is not attached to the head office. The Committee therefore instructed that urgent action be taken to fill the existing vacancies.
The COPA Chair also recommended that a formal proposal with regard to the centralized, up-to-date database on archaeological excavations be submitted to the Committee within three months.
The Committee further drew attention to the failure to update the official website of the Department of Archaeology.
Members pointed out that maintaining an updated official website is vital for tourist attraction. Accordingly, the Committee instructed the Department to prepare a mechanism and take prompt action to update the website.
Additionally, the Committee took note that 48% of the total archaeological sites identified as at 31 December 2023 have not yet been gazetted. The Committee recommended that a report containing full details of gazetted and non-gazetted sites be submitted within one month.
Furthermore, the Committee recommended the submission of a report on sites identified for nomination to UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, along with the relevant draft proposals. (Newswire)
