AIUSDOS takes Sajith Premadasa to task

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

The All Island United Samurdhi Development Officers Society (AIUSDOS) yesterday vehemently condemning UNP MP Sajith Premadasa's statement made in connection with the Samurdhi movement said the UNP by offering him the chairmanship of its Poverty alleviation Committee had given him a dead rope on the Samurdhi movement.

AIUSDOS convenor Lalith D. Priyantha in a media briefing at Hotel Nippon yesterday said Sajith Premadasa who described the Samurdhi as a movement of beggars and said Samurdhi Development Officers who will not cooperate with the proposed Siyasaviya programme of the UNP will be skinned alive, shows his lack of knowledge on the Samurdhi movement.

By their proposed Siyasaviya what the UNP is attempting is to reduce the number of Samurdhi beneficiaries from the present figure of 1.8 million down to 700,000. The Social Welfare Act introduced by former UNF Government has been a big threat to both Samurdhi beneficiaries and Samurdhi Development Officers (SDOs).

According to this act, those who draw a monthly income of Rs.1500 are entitled to the Samurdhi subsidy. Under this proposed act, if a SDO has given the Samurdhi subsidy to a person who obtain a monthly income of over 1500 such an officer is liable to two year jail term.

Therefore this act should be amended immediately, he said.

He said the Executive Committee of AIUSDOS has also decided to extend its fullest support to UPFA Presidential candidate Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse at the forthcoming Presidential Election. As a Minister who introduced the Labour charter to safeguard the workers' rights and also a politician who always thinks on behalf of the common man,they decided to work towards the Premier's victory, he said.

Due to Premadasa's statement, a lot of confusion has been created among 1.8 million Samurdhi beneficiary families." Therefore if Premadasa does not know about the Samurdhi programme, we invite him to discuss this with us so that we could enlighten him on the actual position of the Samurdhi movement, he said.

"Otherwise he should know the details of Samurdhi movement from two Ministers who were in charge of the Samurdhi portfolio during the regime of former UNF Government and decide whether this is a movement of beggars or not," he said.

"At present the total deposits in the 1035 countrywide Samurdhi banks amount to Rs. 18000 million. Therefore Sajith Premadasa should explain if the UNP is going to dissolve the Samurdhi movement what would happen to this Rs.18000 million saved by the poor in Samurdhi banks," Priyantha said.

He said there may be shortcomings within the Samurdhi movement. However the need of the hour is to bring forward the Samurdhi programme by rectifying it's existing errors. " It is mere opportunism if one were to think of safeguarding the Samurdhi movement during only election times. This should be safeguarded forever under the regime of every Government."

At present the Samurdhi movement has completed over 10 years and six months. Samurdhi was entirely politicised during the tenure of the former UNF Government.

The then UNF Government completely slashed off the Samurdhi subsidy of nearly 650000 recipient families. Therefore the Samurdhi movement completely collapsed during the time of former UNF Government, he said.