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Wrong officials and criteria used to select those eligible for Aswesuma, says Sajith

Published

3 years ago

2023/08/10

Sajith Premadasa

Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa told Parliament that the poor and elderly helplessly fall to their death in queues to get their membership of the Aswesuma government welfare scheme that had gone awry because the government overlooked obtaining five main public sector officials in each Grama Niladhari Division.

Making a special statement to the House on Tuesday, Premadasa said that the government put in place for implementation a group of persons who have no experience in rural poverty overlooking the input from Grama Niladhari, Samurdhi Development Officer, Agriculture Research Officer, Economic Development Officer and Family Health officer.

He said that Aswesuma could be a programme for the betterment of the poor, but its implementation is a complete failure. Selection of eligible families should be made at grassroots level, taking each Grama Niladhari division as a unit. The Aswesuma is being put into practice without conducting a proper research which should have included the input of Grama Niladhari, Samurdhi Development Officer, Agriculture Research Officer, Economic Development Officer and Family Health officer. How could such a programme be successful at implementation? This has thrown the poor into the fire from the frying pan. The beneficiaries have not been selected scientifically. It could have been scientifically correct to select them on account of their monthly electricity consumption. The way adopted by the government is beyond the reason and as per that method, many among the seven million poor are likely to be overlooked, he said.

He asked the government to explain to this House the method it is planning to implement a national welfare scheme of the nature of the Aswesuma programme without data. There is scientifically acknowledged data by many think tanks, including a report from the LIRNEasia that identifies that only 1.1 million out of two million people living below the poverty line, have been identified to be entitled for the Aswesuma welfare scheme.

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Related Topics:Opposition and SJB leader Sajith Premadasa Sajith Premadasa

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INS NIREEKSHAK makes port call in Colombo

Published

10 hours ago

2026/04/21

Priyan

The Indian Navy Ship (INS) NIREEKSHAK arrived in Sri Lanka for Operational Turnaround (OTR) and a training visit on 21 Apr 26.

The Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ship at the port of Colombo in accordance with time-honoured naval traditions.

Commanded by, Commander Sailesh Kumar Tyagi, this Diving Support Vessel is set to conduct a training programme with the diving professionals of the Sri Lanka Navy.

The crew is also scheduled to participate in several activities organized by the Sri Lanka Navy and visit some tourist attractions within the country.

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Advisory for Severe Lightning issued to the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western, North-central, Southern, Uva provinces, and Mannar, Vavuniya, Ampara, Batticaloa districts

Published

12 hours ago

2026/04/21

Priyan

Advisory for Severe Lightning
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
Issued at 12.00 noon 21 April 2026 valid for the period until 11.30 p.m. 21 April 2026

Thundershowers accompanied with severe lightning are likely to occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western, Northcentral, Southern, Uva provinces, and in Mannar, Vavuniya, Ampara, Batticaloa districts after 1.00 p.m.

There may be temporary localized strong winds during thundershowers. General public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damages caused by lightning activity.

ACTION REQUIRED:

The Department of Meteorology advises that people should:
 Seek shelter, preferably indoors and never under trees.
 Avoid open areas such as paddy fields, tea plantations and open water bodies during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using wired telephones and connected electric appliances during thunderstorms.
 Avoid using open vehicles, such as bicycles, tractors and boats etc.
 Beware of fallen trees and power lines.
 For emergency assistance contact the local disaster management authorities

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Six Foreign Envoys Present Credentials to President Dissanayake

Published

14 hours ago

2026/04/21

Priyan

Two High Commissioners, three Ambassadors and an Apostolic Nuncio-designate of the Holy See presented their credentials to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake at the Presidential Secretariat this morning (20).

The ceremony, held at 10.00 a.m., followed the formal order of precedence, with the envoys representing Papua New Guinea, Somalia, Luxembourg, the Holy See, Pakistan and Kuwait.

Accordingly, diplomats who presented their credentials were:

01. Vincent Sumale, High Commissioner-designate of Papua New Guinea (Based in New Delhi)

02. Abdullahi Mohammed Odowa, Ambassador-designate of Somalia (Based in New Delhi)

03. Christian Biever, Ambassador-designate of Luxembourg (Based in New Delhi)

04. Monsignor Andrzej Józwowicz, Apostolic Nuncio-designate of the Holy See

05. Major General (Retd) Nayyar Naseer, High Commissioner-designate of Pakistan

06. Saleh Mubarak Al-Sarawi, Ambassador-designate of Kuwait

Following the presentation of credentials, the President engaged in a cordial discussion with them. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, and the Secretary to the President, Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake, were also in attendance.