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Peace moves lead to more Samurdhi Bank openings in Jaffna

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

The remarkable progress achieved by the peace process has opened avenues to the Government for setting up 13 new Samurdhi Bank Societies covering all Divisional Secretariat divisions in the Jaffna district to meet banking needs of low income families.

Of them, one bank has already been opened at Marudankanni. The other 12 banks will be opened at the end of February this year, Agriculture, Livestock and Samurdhi Minister S.B.Dissanayake told the Daily News yesterday.

He said Sri Lanka Samurdhi Authority (SLSA) has spent nearly Rs.11 million for the bank buildings. Samurdhi banks will be established at Marudankanni, Delft and Kayts islands where state or private bank have never operated. The Government has appointed 629 new Samurdhi Development Officers and 39 new Samurdhi Managers to implement the Samurdhi programme in 14 Divisional Secretariat Divisions in the North-East in which the Samurdhi programme does not operate at present.

In addition, 2,330 Samurdhi Development Officers and 146 Samurdhi Managers work in the North-East to implement the Samurdhi programme to cater to the needs of the poor, the Minister said.

The remarkable progress achieved by the Samurdhi Bank Societies in alleviating poverty and developing the savings habit among the poor has enabled the SLSA to set up 78 Samurdhi Banks in Vavuniya, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara districts, he said.

"However the target of the SLSA is to open another 42 new Samurdhi Bank Societies in the North-East during this year," the Minister said.

As a result of the Government's peace initiative, 236,019 low income families in the North-East have already become active members of the Samurdhi movement.

Meanwhile the Government has allocated Rs.56.2 million to implement the Samurdhi programme in the North-East this year to uplift the socio-economic conditions of a large number of low income families, he said. The SLSA will focus on starting banking activities in the North-East by inculcating the savings habit in low income families by guiding them towards income generating avenues, the Minister said.

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