Samurdhi poverty alleviation program:

Most successful in region - Sumathipala

Disna MUDALIGE

The Samurdhi Program was proved to be the most successful poverty alleviation program in the region, said UPFA Parliamentarian Thilanga Sumathipala. He said that 29 percent of the population was earning a daily income of less than one dollar when Samurdhi was initiated in 1996. This rate was 5.1 percent in December 2008 which implied 25 percent decrease within 15 years, he pointed out.

He was addressing the Third Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Asia Regional Conference held at the Hilton Hotel yesterday.

He said that over Rs 20 billion is currently saved in 1038 island-wide Samurdhi Banks by the Samurdhi beneficiaries. Under Samurdhi program, 32 different training programs are conducted and beneficiaries are guided to find income avenues after the completion of these training programs.

He said that the government's main aim is to increase the number of middle income level people in the country. It also encourages money circulation among the lower level of society. He noted that the government is engaged in promoting IT literacy to widen the access to information.

UNP Parliamentarian Sujeewa Senasinghe pointed out that corruption has become a common feature in the political arena of the Asian region and this menace should be eliminated to combat poverty.

Indian Speaker Meira Kumar revealed that 1.2 billion people which amounts to one fifth of the world population live under extreme poverty and most of them belong to Asian and African regions. She noted that there is no single formula for every country to address the issue of poverty and the strategies should be planned according to the region.

Pakistan Speaker Fehmida Mirza was the Chairperson of the 'Poverty Alleviation' session and Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa, Secretary General of Parliament Dhammika Kitulgoda, UPFA Parliamentarians Sudharshini Fernandopulle and Rajiva Wijesinghe were also present.