Senior citizen dies while in line to obtain Aswesuma Welfare Benefit letter

COLOMBO (News 1st); A senior citizen in Sri Lanka had died after falling ill while waiting in line to obtain the eligibility letter for the Aswesuma Welfare Benefit Program on Thursday (27) morning.

The deceased was identified as a 77-year-old man from Namunukula, and he fell ill while waiting in line at the Ella Divisional Secretariat.

It was reported that he had visited the Ella Divisional Secretariat on Thursday (27) morning to obtain the letter that would allow Aswesuma beneficiaries to open bank accounts.

An officer at the Divisional Secretariat told News 1st that a 1990 Suwa Seriya Ambulance was called to the location, and upon inspection, he was ruled dead on scene.

The body was moved to the Badulla General Hospital for the postmortem examination.

Over the past few days, Sri Lankans who were selected for the Aswesuma Welfare Benefit Program has been lining up at Divisional Secretariats to obtain the letter that would allow them to open bank accounts to access the Aswesuma Funds.

On the 9th of May 2023, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe gave out directions for the initiation of “Aswesuma” welfare benefit payments, which are scheduled to commence from July 1st.

Accordingly, these payments will be distributed among four social categories, namely transitional, vulnerable, poor, and extremely poor. 

Additionally, the usual allowances for the differently-abled, elderly, and kidney patients will also be provided

According to the President's Media Division, the distribution of funding is as follows:

– 400,000 transitional beneficiaries will receive Rs.2,500per month until December 31, 2023

– 400,000 vulnerable beneficiaries will receive Rs.5,000 per month until March 31, 2024

– 800,000 poor beneficiaries will receive Rs.8,500 per month

– Extremely poor beneficiaries will receive Rs.15,000 per month for three years beginning July 1, 2023.

Currently, 72,000 differently abled people getting welfare benefits will each receive Rs.5000.00 per month, 39,150 people receiving kidney support will each receive Rs.5000.00, and 416,667 people receiving senior assistance would each receive Rs.2000.00, said the President's Media Division.

Effective from July, the Welfare Benefits Board has implemented a direct crediting system, ensuring that beneficiaries’ bank accounts are directly credited with the necessary welfare benefits.

This encompasses the correction of any previous errors in social welfare benefits and the continuation of existing Government assistance programs such as Samurdhi and Elderly Assistance, said the President's Media Division.

The ‘Aswesuma’ welfare benefit program, initiated by the President as part of the social safety net to alleviate the ongoing economic crisis, is being overseen by Minister of State for Finance Shehan Semasinghe, with involvement from various Government agencies, including the Ministry of Finance.

B. Wijayaratne, the Chairman of the Welfare Benefit Board was quoted by the PMD saying that the selection of ‘Aswesuma’ beneficiaries is carried out through a centralized data base, ensuring that political affiliations do not influence the assistance provided. 

However, protests erupted over the selection of names for the Aswesuma welfare benefit program claiming that the surveys carried out to identify the worst affected people were based on inaccurate information.