News
Aswesuma review process stops without written guidelines
A development officer examines the document of applicants during the review process. Pic by Eshan Fernando
The Aswesuma welfare scheme appeal process is at a standstill amid complaints and difficulties arising from insufficient guidelines in choosing the beneficiaries.
Development Officers Service Union Secretary Chandana Sooriyaarachchi said development officers handling the task of identifying bona fide beneficiaries from the nearly one million appeals discontinued the task on Wednesday, citing difficulties due to the absence of written guidelines from the government or the Welfare Board.
He said that the Welfare Board had requested the Aswesuma appeal committees, headed by divisional secretaries, devise a new beneficiaries’ list after reviewing the nearly one million appeals received. They were given a 30-day period beginning on August 2 to present the new list.
Although district secretaries requested on July 5 a set of written guidelines regarding the criteria to select the “poor” and the factors that need to be looked into to do so, no such guidelines have been sent to them.
Divisional Secretaries and Assistant Divisional Secretaries Association Secretary W G M Hemantha Kumara told the Sunday Times that during a meeting District and Divisional Secretaries had with Finance State Minister Shehan Semasinghe on August 7, higher officials apprised them that a set of guidelines would be provided “as soon as possible”.
He said they would proceed with the review process no sooner than they received the guidelines.
A Welfare Board official said an updated set of guidelines would be sent to Divisional Secretaries on Friday.
He said the central issue was the shortfall of ground-level support from Grama Niladharis. “We have given a written statement and a letter to all the Grama Niladharis, instructing them that they have been delegated the authority to carry out their duties,” he said.
The official said the necessary computer training was also provided to divisional secretaries to carry out the review of the appeals and objections.
He said one of the biggest difficulties was the unwillingness of the applicants to disclose personal information. Some provide false information. If these were not properly checked, the Grama Niladhari is at risk of even being sentenced to prison, he said.
Another concern raised by officials is that, due to the economic crisis, many people came under the social label “poor”, and therefore identifying the indigent is a rather daunting task.
Meanwhile, beneficiaries of the first Aswesuma list that stirred a major uproar across the country are receiving their payments.
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