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Let us rebuild Samurdhi movement - SB

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

Agriculture,Livestock and Samurdhi Minister S. B. Dissanayake requested all Samurdhi Managers and Samurdhi Development Officers to perform their duties with dedication and self confidence and rectify their errors to rebuild the Samurdhi movement to its original glory.

Minister Dissanayake who made an official visit to the Sri Lanka Samurdhi Authority at Battaramulla yesterday said that Samurdhi is a movement which had to always face challenges. Samurdhi Managers specially should have self confidence and courage to face up and surmount such challenges to give leadership to the movement under a clear vision so that they could eliminate poverty among the poor soon.

He said the rift between the President and him was a political problem. A politician has a democratic right to resign from one party and join another or bring about the downfall of a party which acted contrary to people's wishes. Politicians who respected democracy should accept that right without hate or abhorrence.

Now they had to redouble their efforts to rebuild the Samurdhi movement. "Amidst various threats, Samurdhi officials have made valient efforts with dedication during the past few months to clear me from all these false charges," he said.

"At present, the Samurdhi movement has been politicised. But this politicisation of Samurdhi helped the PA Government to win 9 elections. Otherwise, the PA would not have won a single election," he charged.

Minister Dissanayake said he had envisaged a program to depoliticise the Samurdhi but it could not be implemented due to the events that followed immediately before the General Election. A scathing attack was levelled against him by the President but he was confident that the truth will finally prevail and he would be fully exonerated.

Arrangements have been made to meet all the Divisional Secretaries and Samurdhi officials next week to discuss existing problems in the movement and rectify them immediately. This would eliminate the doubts entertained by UNP supporters about the Samurdhi movement, the Minister added. 

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