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Treasury Deputy Secretary R.M.P. Rathnayake
Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment Ministry Secretary Neil Hapuhinne
WBB Chairman B. Wijayarathne
By Charumini de Silva
In a bid to safeguard over three million families affected by the worsened income disparities following the pandemic and ongoing economic crisis, the Government has deployed an identification of eligible persons to receive welfare benefits payment system.
The new welfare benefits information system – ‘Aswesuma’ will ensure clear identification and verification of the cash beneficiaries and will come into effect early next year.
To identify and verify those who are in actual need of financial assistance, the Welfare Benefit Board (WBB) under the Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies Ministry together with the Women, Child Affairs, and Social Empowerment Ministry have called for applications from the public before 30 September.
The scheme is funded by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to provide direct financial relief to low-income families entitled to categories identified under Samurdhi, Elderly, Kidney, and Disabilities as well as those who are on the waiting list for each of these categories. During the first half, the World Bank committed $ 145 million, whilst the ADB signed agreements for $ 235 million for the initiative.
The Welfare Benefits Act No. 42 of 2002, through the WBB, lays out the process to establish a transparent selection process to identify social welfare recipients, with provisions for the termination of such benefits to undeserving recipients. In July, President Ranil Wickremasinghe appointed the WBB.
The authorities estimate around four million households including a new 600,000 will be eligible for the social welfare benefit scheme, hit by the double whammy of the pandemic and economic crisis.
“Sri Lanka has been known for its social welfare systems since 1931. Over time, we have observed that some people unduly benefit from welfare benefit schemes, and the launch of the Aswesuma information system will eliminate such persons,” Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment Ministry Secretary Neil Hapuhinne told journalists on Tuesday.
He said the Government disbursed a total of Rs. 51,374 million among 3.2 million low-income families from May to July affected by the current economic crisis.
“We hope this new initiative will pave the way to achieve economic stability and equality among society,” Hapuhinne added.
On a previous occasion he said the number of people receiving direct State handouts has almost doubled in the past year with over 90% of the population now relying on the Government for financial help.
“It is safe to say that nine out of 10 people are dependent on State handouts at present following the economic crisis,” Hapuhinne said.
WBB Chairman B. Wijayarathne said they follow a six-step transparent process by the Welfare Benefits Act, covering six fields and 22 criteria, to ensure clear identification and verification of the cash grant beneficiaries.
“Over 14,000 field officers will be deployed at Divisional Secretariat Offices across the country for data collection and verification, which is to be conducted through a smartphone application tested by the United Nations (UN). The final list of eligible social welfare applicants will then be published after evaluating the appeals and objections raised by the applicants and the public on the initial list selected by the selection committees at the Divisional Secretariat level,” he explained.
The WBB Chief also pointed out that this was the first time the Welfare Benefits Act No. 42 of 2002 was being prudently put into practice.
“After we collect all information and verify them, it will be put into a new database which can be accessed via the Aswesuma App. We will then issue two QR codes per family to directly obtain financial grants. Thus, it will eliminate households that unduly benefit from various welfare schemes,” Wijayarathne added.
Treasury Deputy Secretary R.M.P. Rathnayake said annually the Government allocates over Rs. 134 billion for welfare projects through the National Budget.
“The interim Budget also allocated Rs. 610 million to be disbursed among 61,000 households,” he revealed.
He said the identification of eligible persons to receive welfare benefits payment system was a work of many years and partners.
Rathnayake appreciated the support extended by the WB and ADB who stepped forward to provide additional funding for Sri Lanka’s social welfare schemes amid the economic crisis.
The other partnering organisations include; Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils and Local Government Ministry, Women, Child Affairs and Social Empowerment Ministry, Department of Samurdhi Development, National Secretariat for Elders, National Secretariat for Persons with Disability, Department of Census and Statistics, and Information and Communication Technology Agency.
