The Hon. Wijesiri Basnayake

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, today we debate the Aswesuma social protection payment scheme presented under the Welfare Benefits Act, No. 24 of 2002.

¶ 02 When speaking of welfare and benefits, poverty must be discussed. The World Bank defines poverty as the inability of low-income people to access the basic goods and services necessary to live with dignity. Poverty has various dimensions: relative poverty, transient poverty, and intergenerational poverty. We also discuss multidimensional poverty, which includes health, education, and living standards beyond income.

¶ 03 Since Independence, every Government has introduced programmes to alleviate poverty: ration books, stamps, Samurdhi, and others. Yet, even today, roughly one in four Sri Lankans is trapped in poverty, indicating gaps. Under the 2002 Act, the Social Welfare Benefits Board is responsible for identifying those eligible and delivering benefits. The Aswesuma scheme began in 2023 and has progressed significantly.

¶ 04 The programme recognizes four main social categories: transitional, vulnerable, poor, and extreme poor. In addition, persons with disabilities, chronic kidney patients, and the elderly receive benefits — Rs. 10,000 for persons with disabilities, Rs. 10,000 for chronic kidney patients, and Rs. 5,000 for senior citizens.

¶ 05 We are now in the post-“Didva” cyclone period, with widespread hardship. Considering short- and long-term impacts, amendments have been brought. As per Gazette dated 15.12.2025, the duration for vulnerable households has been extended from the earlier end date of 31.12.2025 to June this year. For the poor and extreme poor, benefits — earlier scheduled to end in June 2026 — are extended to June 2027. The transitional category ended in April 2025 with no change. Benefits to the differently-abled, chronic kidney patients, and elderly continue without change, with increased beneficiary numbers.

¶ 06 There is major public debate on Aswesuma targeting and data collection methods. This is not a National People’s Power (NPP) scheme; we inherited it upon taking office. As Hon. Harsha de Silva clarified as Chair of COPF, the scheme has two key errors: exclusion of truly poor households and inclusion of ineligible households, resulting in misallocation.

¶ 07 Accordingly, COPF recommended to the Ministry of Finance to revise the indicators and their weights. A Technical Committee chaired by Prof. Lakshman Dissanayake, with Prof. Sirimal Abeyratne, Prof. Seetha Bandara, Dr. Pulasti Amarasinghe, and Dr. Herath Gunatilake, is working on this. They have met twice and are progressing. We will soon receive their report, after which we will conduct field verification, update the poverty registry accurately, and from June ensure the benefits reach the truly poor without further slippage.

¶ 08 Finally, consistent with our “Prosperous Country – Dignified Life” pledge, we will modernize and update Aswesuma, refine targeting, and ensure taxpayers’ money reaches the most deserving. Thank you.