Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2015-12-16

The use of the title 'Samurdhi' for Divineguma Act, No.01 of 2013

- The Department of Divineguma Development was established in the year 2013 with the amalgamation of the institutions of Sri Lanka Samurdhi Authority, Sri Lanka Udarata Development Authority, Southern Development Authority of Sri Lanka, the Department of Upcountry Peasantry Rehabilitation and the Department of Commissioner General of Samurdhi. However, the name 'Samurdhi' is much popular and recognized among public, since the Samurdhi Programme was implemented with the main objective of elimination of poverty. As such, taken into consideration the requests made to replace the name 'Divineguma' with the name 'Samurdhi', by the small groups organized under this programme, societies, unions and the village level officers who implement this programme, the proposal made by Hon. S.B. Dissanayake, the Minister of Social Empowerment and Welfare, to amend the Divineguma Act, No.1 of 2013 to substitute the title 'Divineguma' with the 'Samurdhi', was approved by the Cabinet.