POVERTY ALLEVIATION

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Poverty alleviation has occupied a prime slot in the universal agenda over the decades for the mere fact that it is a phenomenon that inhibits the progression of nations across the globe. President Maithripala Sirisena’s ambitious campaign to eradicate all forms of poverty by 2030 came to the fore against this backdrop under the banner ‘Grama Shakthi - People’s Movement’ on October 20, 2017. It is a fact that there were positive as well as negative aspects of many post-war poverty alleviation programmes that came into effect. The ultimate aim of Grama Shakthi is to alleviate poverty in the next 12 years (2018–2030) by reviewing and improving only the positive profile of these programmes and infusing strength to implement rural development plans with proper understanding of market opportunities, with the contribution of women and youth.Four policies have been identified for the Grama Shakthi People’s Movement. They are identifying the nature of poverty by targetting families and areas, deriving public sector contribution for poverty alleviation, garnering support of the private sector for the cause, and mobilising the support of people and organisations to combat the reasons causing poverty.Based on the above policies, the Grama Shakthi People’s Movement propagates certain golden rules that the community should follow to maximise the benefits. Breaching of any of these golden rules can inhibit the progress of the villages. These rule highlight the need to contribute to people’s development, uphold self-confidence and practice self-help, emphasise significance of being accountable for own actions, acknowledge that good governance is key to success, believe in gradual progression, the worth of cost effectiveness, the importance of transparency in transactions, uphold the principles of equity and inclusion, highlight the value of swift action and ensure quality and relying on others when required.
It is proposed to launch this village-based people’s movement covering all 14,022 Grama Niladari Divisions at Divisional Secretariat level. A people’s company (Grama Shakthi Unit) is formed with a Board of Directors representing 80 percent of families in selected 700 Grama Niladari Divisions that rose from 10 percent to 45 percent in the poverty index in 2017. Every villager can become a member and under this programme, a fund will be raised by the government to provide Rs. 8,000 per individual, an amount determined based on the size of the membership of each unit. Solutions will be provided through the Grama Shakthi Unit for identified poverty-related reasons within the village.

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