A program to inform district officers about the "Community Empowerment Program 2025" under the supervision of the Ministry of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment and the Department of Samurdhi Development was held on 12 March 2025 at the District Secretariat.
The meeting was held under the patronage of the newly appointed Kegalle District Secretary H. M. J. M. Herath, and the Chairman of the Kegalle District Coordination Committee and Minister of Environment Dr. Dhammika Patabendi, who participated in the program representing the political authority. The meeting was also attended by the Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, Ms. Nalika Piyasena (Rural Development).
The community needs to be empowered to overcome the dependency mentality and build an independent citizen society. The main objective of this program is to make every citizen of the country a proud participant in the national economy through a five-pronged empowerment program based on the strengths built within the community. The main objectives of this project are to empower the community through the five-pronged forces of livelihood promotion, social security, financial inclusion, psychosocial empowerment, training and guidance, based on the strengths built within the community with the ideas and suggestions of the community.
The Community Empowerment Program 2025 is implemented under two sources.
* National Empowerment Program (implemented under Treasury funds and departmental funds)
* Asian Development Bank Pilot Program (Asian Development A D B Bank Loan Assistance)
To achieve the annual target of Samurdhi Development Officers in the field, one officer should select 50 families from the following beneficiary categories. According to the first adjustment beneficiary family category, 23 transitional and focus beneficiary families, 10 poor beneficiary families, and 05 extremely poor families should be selected, 38 families should be selected. Also, 12 families from the second low-income family category (family receiving Samurdhi subsidy) should be selected, making a total of 50 families. All officers have been informed about the identification of Aswesuma beneficiary families at the Grama Niladhari Division level, the identification of low-income families who have received Samurdhi subsidy but have not received Aswesuma, the identification of areas and programs to be empowered, the empowerment methodology and the expected results.
The new Government Agent, H. M. J. M., who participated in this program immediately after assuming office and gave a welcome speech. Mr. Herath stated: "We, the public officials, must protect the lives of the people we have been protecting all our lives. This is a huge task and we must all work together as a team to accomplish it."
Representing the political authority, Kegalle District Coordination Committee Chairman and Minister of Environment Dr. Dhammika Patabendi stated: "There is a challenge in how to implement these programs within a period of 08 months and we can only achieve the desired economic development pace if we implement it adequately." He further stated: "We need to break free from the mentality of dependency and create a productive community that contributes to the country's productive economy, works hard as participants in the economy, and this work should be done responsibly by selecting the right beneficiaries under a systematic program and providing benefits to those in need."
Ms. Piya Sena, Additional Secretary (Rural Development) of the Ministry of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment, who participated in the program today, explained the role and objectives of this project and stated: "In accordance with the concept of poverty eradication, which is one of the main objectives of His Excellency the President, the Ministry of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment has presented several programs and projects to empower the rural poor. Accordingly, our objective is to empower 2 million people over 5 years at the rate of 04 lakhs per year provided by the Samurdhi Development Department and to socialize them as an empowered group." Also, the Senior Manager of Livelihood Development, Samurdhi Development Department, Sunil Wijesinghe, who participated in this meeting today, gave a lengthy explanation regarding the empowerment program of the Ministry of Rural Development, Social Security and Community Empowerment and the Samurdhi Development Department for the year 2025. Also, I feel that this meeting held today was an opportunity to resolve the issues arising in the implementation of the community empowerment program and ended as a successful program.
Representing the political authority for this meeting held today, Kegalle District Parliamentarian W. R. Kanchana Welipitiya, Kegalle District Parliamentarian K. R. Nanda Bandara, Kegalle District Parliamentarian Attorney-at-Law A. A. Sagarika Gangani Athauda, Kegalle Additional District Secretary (Land) Dilip Nishantha, Additional District Secretary (Administration) Kusum Bandara, Assistant District Secretary Malsha L. Priyadarshani District Planning Director A. A. Weerakoon, District Agriculture Director M. S. Mr and Mrs from Thilakasiri representing the District Secretariat Office, representing the local participation and empowering all the local secretaries of the district, prosperity headquarters, community root bank unions, community root bank managers, district headquarters, community root bank managers, district heads of district secretariat and prosperity division of district secretariat All officers attended.
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