Samurdhi a Failure – JVP

JVP Parliamentarian Sunil Handunnetti  while participating in the  budget debate said, that  the Samurdhi development programme and the Divi Neguma programme have failed to produce desired results  because people’s needs not included in it.

It was highlighted that the 150 billion rupee allocation for the Samurdhi development programme has not been distributed stringently among the needy.

MP Sunil Handunnetti speaking in Parliament said the Samurdhi is an organisation that has been politicised.

Parliament yesterday discussed concerns that rural folk have fallen prey to loan providers due to the mismanagement of the Divi Neguma programme and the misuse of the Samurdhi development project.

Responding Minister SB Dissanayake said Former Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa should be held responsible for the present status of the Samurdhi programme. He said the then government only disbursed, 20 to 25% of money from banks. Minister Dissanayake said, “Fraud has led to the increase in loan providers in villages, who provide loans at huge interest rates. Basil Rajapaksa should be held responsible because he didn’t seek methods to disburse the funds appropriately. 100 Billion rupees has been misused.”