Govt. receives 400,000 complaints about Aswesuma

The Ministry of Finance yesterday announced that approximately 400,000 appeals had been received by Wednesday evening about the beneficiaries list of the ‘Aswesuma’ social security scheme.According to the Finance Ministry, 383,232 appeals and 5,045 objections have been submitted regarding the beneficiaries’ list.

State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe announced on 25 June that officials had been asked to fast-track the submission of appeals and objections at the Divisional Secretariats across the country.

State Minister Semasinghe yesterday assured that the aggrieved people could submit appeals before 10 July. Addressing the media at the President’s Media centre, Semasinghe urged the public not to fall prey to various interested parties.

He added that the appeals and objections received would be evaluated, and the Government Agents (GAs) and Assistant GAs would publish the final beneficiary list. The Welfare Benefits Board would intervene if any further injustices are found, he said.

Meanwhile, the President’s Media Division (PMD) stated that the government was closely monitoring the ‘Aswesuma’ social security scheme and assured that any deficiencies in the candidate selection process would be promptly addressed, and discussions were planned with District Secretaries, Divisional Secretaries, For further inquiries about the program, individuals can contact the operational hotline ‘1924’ on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.