The Chief of Presidential Staff, Sagala Ratnayake says that beneficiaries who have lost Samurdhi subsidies will be given the opportunity to submit appeals.
He added that the new welfare benefits programme is scheduled to commence on July 01.
Joining an event held in Colombo, Ratnayake mentioned that a procedure will be introduced to directly deposit the welfare money to the benefit receivers’ bank accounts.
Furthermore, he revealed that the government plans to prepare a programme to empower the beneficiaries without keeping them poor forever.
“Samurdhi [subsidy] was in place for a long time to eradicate the poverty of the poor. But did it happen? It didn’t.
He said the Samurdhi subsidy is not enough for low-income people to make ends meet, and that it did not help them to overcome poverty.
“A census was carried out recently to properly identify the welfare benefit recipients. The list [of beneficiaries] is not 100% based on the census report.”
“There is an opportunity to submit an appeal if someone thinks they deserve the Samurdhi benefits. If they think they were subject to any injustice, this is an opportunity to rectify it.”
source adaderana
