Samurdhi officers should take lead in development

COLOMBO: Samurdhi officers should come forward and pilot the country's development programme, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.

The President was addressing a delegation of the All Ceylon Samurdhi Development and Agricultural Research Production Assistants Association to discuss problems of Samurdhi Development officers at Temple Trees on Monday.

A Presidential Secretariat release said at this meeting the President stressed the need to strengthen the Samurdhi Movement as a national poverty alleviation programme after identifying Samurdhi beneficiaries under a precise strategy.

President Rajapaksa also directed authorities to draw up plans to provide distress loans to Samurdhi officers on the same lines of the distress loan system of Government servants.

"Money saved by Samurdhi recipients should be deployed for development in the same locality without transferring it to Colombo," he said.

Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva said Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe who did not utter even a single word on the LTTE's human rights violations of Muslims, today speaks on the human rights violations due to his greediness to grab power.

The Minister said:" The day is very close to capture the entire Eastern province by the Government troops. Therefore we are not ready to betray the victories achieved by our war heroes. We will further bring forward such victories."

The sole intention of the President is to create a country which all the communities can live in without any fear. All have given their fullest cooperation towards this programme. Nation Building Minister Susantha Punchinilame, Water Supply and Drainage Minister A.L.M.Athaullah, Eastern Province Commander and Eastern Province DIG were also present.