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Frontline Samurdhi officers face flak over relief omissions
Samurdhi officers continue to face assault and threats by people puzzled and resentful that they are excluded from the Rs. 5,000 hardship benefit being handed out to sections of the community.
Many people are confused about why they have not received the allowance this time when they received it during previous occasions, Samurdhi Development Officers Union Secretary Chamara Madduma-Kaluge said.
The wife of a Samurdhi officer attached to Kudalunuka area in the Rideemaliyedda Divisional Secretariat was assaulted by a woman who came to the officer’s house to demand the Rs. 5,000 allowance. The woman had attacked the couple with bricks, and the officer’s wife had to be admitted to Mahiyanganaya base hospital for treatment to injuries.
Maligawatte residents await their turn to receive the Rs. 5000. Pic by Akila Jayawardana
Attanagalle Acting Magistrate warned and released three people on personal bail of Rs. 50,000 each for threatening a Samurdhi officer in the Hiriwala area.
In Pallewelela, police arrested two females and one male and produced them in court after a female Samurdhi officer was shouted at and threatened.
The distribution of the allowance commenced on April 10 after a circular was issued by the Prime Minister’s Office announcing disbursement of a one-off Rs. 5,000 relief allowance to Samurdhi families, families identified as low-income earners, beneficiaries of the senior citizens allowance and disability allowance, families with kidney patients, families with elderly members above the age of 100 and low-income families that have submitted appeals. The circular mentioned that the previous 10 categories of recipients of the allowance had been reduced to seven categories.
“Some people come a long distance, only to be told that they do not qualify for inclusion on the list. Some Samurdhi banks have not received sufficient funds so officers have to send away those who come seeking money,” Mr. Madduma-Kaluge said.
“Many people come demanding the Rs. 5,000 despite not being named on the low-income families list. This has clearly caused a rift between Samurdhi officers and the public: in a pandemic situation most people have lost jobs and are going through financial difficulties, so it was a hard task identifying low-income families,” he said.
The union official said Samurdhi officers faced additional difficulties because grama niladharis have shunned the disbursing process and involvement in the selection of low-income groups in their areas.
“The government did not give a clear explanation on how the funds were obtained to pay billions of rupees. If it is taking it from the Samurdhi Fund it is the poor man’s savings and profits that are being used,” Mr. Madduma-Kaluge alleged.
The Director-General of the Department of Samurdhi Development, Bandula Tilakasiri, denied union allegations that the Samurdhi Fund was being misused, stating that the Rs. 14 billion allocated for the relief payment had been issued by Treasury through the two main state banks to more than 1,000 Samurdhi banks.
Of the total, Rs. 13.5 billion has already been distributed to 2.7 million of 3 million people earmarked for the allowance, Mr. Tilakasiri said. Those on the appeal list were still being processed.