The Hon. Ismail Muththu Mohamed

¶ 01 Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim.

¶ 02 Hon. Presiding Member, I am pleased to join the debate on the Samurdhi (Amendment) Bill, Births and Deaths Registration (Amendment) Bill, and regulations under the Sports Act.

¶ 03 Samurdhi began as Janasaviya, then Divi Neguma, and now Aswesuma. The schemes are fine, but implementation has faced many issues. Aswesuma beneficiaries were selected via a QR code system, which has caused problems. Points are assigned for each criterion; if a household has electricity or piped water, they get fewer points and may be excluded—anomalous outcomes. There are nearly 20,000 Samurdhi officers; if selection were done through Divisional Secretaries with their support, true beneficiaries could be identified.

¶ 04 More families are now under the poverty line and the cost of living rises daily. I request that benefit amounts be increased and paid on time; delays push beneficiaries into debt. There are about 1,091 Samurdhi banks, yet Aswesuma payments are often deposited in other banks. If Samurdhi banks have issues, fix them and route payments through Samurdhi banks so beneficiaries receive full benefit. The Minister said this morning all Samurdhi banks will be audited—we welcome that. Please ensure payments go through Samurdhi banks.

¶ 05 Earlier, Samurdhi also provided Rs. 10,000 for marriage, Rs. 10,000 for funerals, Rs. 10,000 for childbirth, and Rs. 300 per day for hospital stays, and a monthly lottery for a house. These social support components have lapsed; please reinstate them.

¶ 06 Since 2013 there have been no new Samurdhi officer appointments, causing shortages and implementation gaps. Many officers have remained in post for 30 years without promotions or benefits; please grant due promotions to officers and managers. In the last recruitment, applications were called, exams held, some passed and were called for interviews but were not appointed; they remain unemployed. In future recruitment, please absorb them as well. Thank you.