Former President and Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had given directions to initiate the Aswesuma Programme, which commenced from 1 July of last year (2023). More than eight million people belonging to two million families were reported to benefit from the initiative. Under the programme, a monthly allowance of Rs. 2,500 is provided to the transitional category, Rs. 5,000 to the vulnerable category, Rs. 7,500 to the poor category, and Rs. 15,000 to the extremely poor category, all for specific periods of time. The usual provision of allowances for the differently-abled, the elderly, and kidney patients also continued.

The deficiencies in the selection process for the Aswesuma Programme are not something new. As soon as the programme was launched, several parties including both Government and Opposition politicians, and the general public alleged that the selection process of the programme had not been transparent. When the beneficiaries were being selected for the programme, the relevant Government officials had withdrawn from the related duties after which youths who were not public servants had been deployed to collect information by visiting households in each area. Several parties attributed it to be an irresponsible decision, and added that a programme aiming to ensure the welfare of vulnerable families should have been implemented more responsibly.

Dodangodage Dona Chandralatha is a 62-year-old widow who lives in the Ovitigama Grama Niladhari (GN) Division of the Homagama Divisional Secretariat (DS) Division. Her husband died of a heart attack 19 years ago, and her only son passed away suddenly in 2018. Since then, she has been earning a daily wage as a domestic worker to support herself and to send her son’s two children, who are now in 11^th and Sixth Grades, to school. She covers all their expenses – education, extra classes, food, and clothing – on her own. Despite applying for the Samurdhi subsidy several times, she said that she only made it onto the waiting list and has not received any support from the Aswesuma Programme. Although she has appealed as directed by the Government, no relief has come through yet. She hopes that the new Government’s decisions will finally bring her some support.

When contacted by The Daily Morning, the Convener of the GN Officers’ Trade Union (TU) Alliance, Jagath Chandralal explained that beneficiaries for the Aswesuma Programme were originally supposed to be selected by Samurdhi Development Officers with input from GN officers. However, the Samurdhi officers refused to perform the task, and rather than addressing their concerns, the Government attempted to pass the responsibility to GN officers, who also declined it. “In this situation, the Welfare Benefits Board (WBB) brought in youths from villages to visit households in each GN Division, gather information, and enter it into a mobile application. This is where things went wrong. Many of these individuals didn’t actually visit the households and instead entered random information. Initially, they were to be paid Rs. 150 per household, but the payment was later raised to Rs. 300. They took the money but didn’t do their work properly, leading to a misuse of millions of Rupees,” He added that because of this, many who genuinely needed benefits did not receive them, while others who are financially stable, did. He added that fixing these issues should involve Samurdhi officers functioning under GN officers’ supervision. If the newly appointed committee is open to collaboration, he said that GN officers are ready to provide information and support.

G.M. Kusumsiri is a 55-year-old resident of the Malwaththa GN Division in the Godakawela DS Division, who was born with a disability affecting one leg. He has three daughters; two are in school, studying in the 11^th and Sixth Grades, while the eldest has finished her education but is currently undergoing treatment for complications from a hearing impairment. Despite his disability, Kusumsiri works as a mason to provide for his family. He puts much of his earnings toward meeting their needs, especially the education of his younger daughters. “My second daughter did very well in her General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level (GCE O/L) Exam last year, passing eight subjects with Distinctions. She is going to study for the GCE Advanced Level (A/L) Exam in another school, but it’s 40 kilometres away, which means that we have to spend more on transportation. It’s hard to meet all these expenses just with the income I make as a mason.” He believes that he should receive more support through the Aswesuma scheme, yet, his current monthly benefit is only Rs. 2,500. He claimed that some families in his area, even those with members in higher-paying jobs, receive greater benefits under this programme. He also hopes that the committee appointed by the Government to review Aswesuma will address these disparities and make sure that families like his, who truly need assistance, receive fair and adequate support.

The Samurdhi Development Officers’ TU (SDOTU) recently asked the National Integration and Social Security Ministry to address alleged injustices in selecting Aswesuma beneficiaries and to take corrective action. In a letter to the Ministry, they claimed that due to these unfair practices, 368,310 beneficiaries have lost their Samurdhi benefits and currently receive no assistance through Samurdhi, Aswesuma, or any other programme. The SDOTU also raised concerns about how responsibilities for implementing the Aswesuma Programme were assigned. The letter noted that Samurdhi officers and managers typically handle Samurdhi related duties, but that during the tenure of the previous Government, Aswesuma related responsibilities were shifted to GN officers and Development Officers (DOs) through Divisional Secretaries. They informed the Minister that while GN officers and DOs now handle most Aswesuma duties, Samurdhi officers are only involved in economic empowerment for Aswesuma beneficiaries, which they find challenging due to coordination related issues. Given these challenges, they requested that Aswesuma responsibilities be reassigned to Samurdhi officers and managers for more effective management.

• Samurdhi Banks come under fire from beneficiaries for ‘obstructing’ the withdrawal of the credited amounts 

• GNs claim household info gathering should be done by Samurdhi Development Officers under GNs’ supervision 

• Widowed breadwinners claim they’ve only made it to the ‘waiting’ list despite several attempts while disabled fathers complain of incorrect categorisation of their poverty level

Pradeep Sanjeewa, aged 34, lives in the Sankhapala GN Division in the Embilipitiya DS Division. Although he received Samurdhi benefits, he has not been selected to receive any support from the Aswesuma programme. As a father of two children, aged 10 and two, he works as an assistant in a shop. He explained that from his salary, he has to cover the family’s needs, including loan payments for building their house, monthly lease instalments on a three-wheeler needed to take his school-aged children to school due to limited public transport facilities in the area, and other essential expenses for his children and the household. “We were given Samurdhi benefits because we were identified as a family in need, so I don’t think that it’s unreasonable to expect help from the Aswesuma Programme too. In our area, many families who don’t really need support have been selected for Aswesuma benefits due to personal or political connections. It would be better if the programme focused on families who genuinely need relief.” Pradeep also said that the community in his area has very limited facilities, including poorly maintained roads and few schools. He noted that most villages there are far from the main road and lack bus services, meaning that families need their own transportation, often buying three-wheelers on lease with monthly payments of Rs. 20,000. Due to these challenging conditions, he said that families in the area require some form of support from the Government.

Meanwhile, families who did not receive benefits under the Aswesuma programme, but received Samurdhi benefits before that, are currently facing a serious issue. Several Samurdhi beneficiaries who were contacted by The Daily Morning, said that the money collected as compulsory savings from the monthly allowances that they received from the Government at the time of their benefits has now been accumulated in the relevant account, but that Samurdhi Banks refuse to release the money. "I have nearly Rs. 80,000 in my compulsory savings account, but when I asked the relevant Samurdhi Bank, they said that I could only withdraw a part of that money when I reach the age of 70 or in case of a serious illness. This is the money that was credited to the account from what we received. Shouldn’t it be released when we need it?,” queried a Samurdhi beneficiary from Godakawela who dealt with the Rakwana Samurdhi Bank. She further said that in this situation, there is a doubt as to what has happened to the compulsory deposits of thousands of people who previously received Samurdhi benefits, and hence the relevant institutions should immediately look into it.

Subject Minister Herath was unavailable for comment. 

Buddhika Samaraweera

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