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Double boost for Samurdhi this year

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

The Samurdhi Movement, the key poverty alleviation movement in the country, will add Rs. 26 billion to the country's economic perfomance this year, Samurdhi Director General Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne told the Daily News yesterday.

This is double the allocation of Rs. 13 billion Government funds allocated to the Samurdhi programme for 2003.

This target will be achieved through the introduction of income- generation projects to 1.5 million Samurdhi-beneficiary families which will increase the income level of each family by Rs. 2000. In addition, the Samurdhi Movement will conduct infrastructure development projects at rural level to reach this target, he said.

The Government has allocated Rs. 9 billion for Samurdhi subsidies, Rs. 3.5 billion for salaries of the Sri Lanka Samurdhi Authority (SLSA) staff and Rs. 500 million for its development activities. Thus the Government has granted Rs. 13 billion to the Samurdhi Movement this year.

"On the directive of Agriculture, Livestock and Samurdhi Minister S.B. Dissanayake, the Samurdhi Movement hopes to reach the Rs.26 billion target this year. This is twice what is spent by the Government on the Samurdhi programme," he said.

Dr. Nawaratne said there are two million Samurdhi beneficiary families. Of them nearly 500,000 families are elders and disabled who cannot be empowered at any rate. However, the Samurdhi programme has laid emphasis on uplifting the socio, economic conditions of 1.5 million Samurdhi families this year. The Samurdhi Movement's objectives cannot be achieved without improving low-income families, income, he said.

Under this programme, the Samurdhi Movement hopes to increase the income level of each family by Rs.2000. "This would generate Rs.30 billion income to the Samurdhi movement," he said.

Income generation projects will be introduced relating to agriculture, livestock, marketing and other service sectors. Samurdhi banks will provide credit facilities upto Rs.100,000 to Samurdhi families to commence these projects. "In order to achieve this target, the SLSA has educated 24,000 Samurdhi development officers and 2,050 Samurdhi managers by giving them targets to improve the income level of Samurdhi recipient families through various projects," he said.

According to a performance evaluation made by the SLSA, promotions, salary increments, housing loans and foreign scholarships will be given to Samurdhi officers who reach the targets, Dr. Nawaratne said.

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