Discrepancies and doubts associated with WFP initiative

Despite much planning and a certain degree of initial success in certain districts surprisingly some economically deprived families were left out of the WFP project

• As part of their initiative in Sri Lanka, the WFP recently launched a project aimed at selecting economically deprived families
• In certain divisional secretariats at least the names of poor individuals were not listed on the aid roster
• Households experiencing severe hunger, food insecurity, and lacking productive assets were considered the most vulnerable and were thus eligible for assistance.
• Families who are completely destitute and have no income are not even included in the aid list

Recently, the “Country Strategic Plan (CSP) for Sri Lanka” was approved by the Executive Board of the World Food Program (WFP) for the period January 2023 to December 2027. The programme is valued at 74.87 million US Dollars and is set to be implemented in line with Sri Lanka’s national policy framework and the United Nations’ sustainable development cooperation framework for 2023-2027. In a letter to President Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Executive Director of the World Food Program, David M. Beasley, shared the news. Thus the government aims to achieve food security and nutrition in Sri Lanka by 2030, in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal No. 02 and the CSP for Sri Lanka.

As part of their initiative in Sri Lanka, the WFP recently launched a project aimed at selecting economically deprived families and providing them with 20,000 rupees. The funds were distributed through selected divisional secretariats in specific districts as a pilot project. Thereby it was launched in districts including Colombo, Kegalle, Jaffna, Matale, and Ratnapura. It has been reported that in some districts, instead of cash, poor families were provided with dry food of similar value. Despite some initial success in certain districts, in several other districts, the relief provided by the project went to families who are not economically deprived, but who have certain economic capabilities. Poor families who genuinely require financial assistance received nothing. In certain divisional secretariats at least the names of poor individuals were not listed on the aid roster. Government officials have attributed this discrepancy to errors in implementing the criteria provided by the World Food Program to distribute the funds. 

The World Food Program (WFP) set 11 criterion for families to be eligible for the 20,000 rupee grant. To receive the grant, a minimum score of 5 or above was required. The criteria were divided into demographic, socioeconomic, and high-risk categories. Demographic data were used to classify households, with those consisting of more than 5 people, disabled individuals, those with chronic diseases, children under 5 years of age, female-headed households, widows, and pregnant or lactating women.

“The WFP chose to execute the program through a non-governmental organization due to the inadequacy of the government institutions in carrying out their duties. The Sarvodaya Institute was responsible for selecting the families to receive the aid money, and the Divisional Secretariat merely facilitated the process,” Ranjith Wickramasinghe Administrative Officer Deraniyagala Divisional Secretariat 

The eligibility criteria to receive the Rs 20,000 aid was also based on socio-economic data, which included households receiving Samurdhi benefits; those with no other benefits and primary source of income, those with unskilled wage laborers, and individuals engaged in unskilled professions. Additionally, households with heads lacking primary education were also considered eligible. Furthermore, households experiencing severe hunger, food insecurity, and lacking productive assets were considered the most vulnerable and were thus eligible for assistance.

Furthermore, the eligibility criteria also included exclusions for those who were not eligible for assistance. The criteria specify that individuals who are currently receiving benefits of over 15,000 rupees per month from non-governmental organizations or other forms of humanitarian aid, those who own more than two hectares of land, and government employees, are not eligible to receive this aid.

After conducting an evaluation in Sri Lanka, the WFP established these eligibility criteria. The programme is being carried out in coordination with various state mechanisms, including divisional secretariats, Grama Niladhari Officers, Samurdhi Officers, Agrarian Officers, Development Officers, and Pradesha Sabha members. Additionally, five people from each village are selected to obtain more accurate information about the village and identify the most deserving families to receive the 20,000 rupees assistance. Sarvodaya is responsible for supervising this process.

However, the low-income families in the Deraniyagala Divisional Secretariat of Kegalle District have not received the 20,000 rupees provided by the World Food Program. According to residents of No. 110 A Bahanella and No. 110 Ballahela in Deraniyagala Divisional Secretariat, families with some source of income, vehicles, and income from tea and rubber have received the money instead. Although 95 families were selected from the two areas, around 30 of them are not actually poor and have sources of income to sustain themselves, according to residents. Moreover, families who are completely destitute and have no income are not even included in the aid list. The selected families have already received the money, as reported by the residents.

 “They (WFP)conducted an evaluation in Sri Lanka to set 11 criteria and families were selected based on them. Even if there are families in need that did not receive aid, it cannot be changed,” J.M.R.P Jayasinghe, Director Kegalle District Office

After this newspaper contacted the Deraniyagala Divisional Secretariat on March 17th, Ranjith Wickramasinghe, the Administrative Officer, responded by stating that the Sarvodaya, a non-governmental organization, implemented the aid program. According to him, the WFP chose to execute the program through a non-governmental organization due to the inadequacy of the government institutions in carrying out their duties. The Sarvodaya Institute was responsible for selecting the families to receive the aid money, and the Divisional Secretariat merely facilitated the process, arranging meetings with villagers and places for these meetings. Wickramasinghe emphasized that the Sarvodaya Institute prepared the financial aid list and did not require the Divisional Secretary’s approval. However, he requested the names of those who with a source of income but still received the aid. According to Wickramasinghe, they have distributed the funds appropriately.

This newspaper also contacted the Kegalle district secretary for further clarification. The district secretary explained that he had facilitated the provision of aid money based on the criteria established by the World Food Program. He also noted that there was no indication that approval from the divisional secretaries was necessary for providing this aid. 

Additionally, this newspaper contacted Mahinda Weerasooriya, Sabaragamuwa Province Chief Secretary. He stated that the aid programme was being carried out through district secretariats and that during a district committee meeting, it had been reported that the poorest families had not received the money. Weerasuriya further said that families who had been overlooked could submit appeals.

J.M.R.P Jayasinghe, Director Kegalle District Office, responsible for overseeing the aid programme, stated that the aid was given according to the criteria set by the World Food Programme. “They (WFP)conducted an evaluation in Sri Lanka to set 11 criteria and families were selected based on them. Even if there are families in need that did not receive aid, it cannot be changed. For instance, a family comprising  5 members including 3 children having a sources of income, receiving Samurdhi benefits, having a three-wheeler or lorry, and a three-acre tea estate, will be favoured by the selection process whereas the poorest families might get disqualified. The World Food Program officials were consulted about this issue, but they refused to change the criteria. 4,707 families in Bulathkohupitiya and Deraniyagala Divisional Secretariat Divisions of Kegalle District received aid, but it is possible that some families were missed.” Mahinda Weerasuriya stated that they requested to change the criteria, and they could not change them.

“The WFP set the criteria. This program was implemented through Sarvodaya, and there were shortcomings in selecting families based on the criteria. These problems were discussed during a district committee meeting and we informed the officials of the World Food Program and Sarvodaya about the practical problem that can occur,”  Madhushani de Silva Deraniyagala Divisional Secretary 

According to Deraniyagala Divisional Secretary Madhushani de Silva, the aid program was implemented to support low-income individuals based on the criteria provided by the World Food Program. “The WFP set the criteria. This program was implemented through Sarvodaya, and there were shortcomings in selecting families based on the criteria. These problems were discussed during a district committee meeting and we informed the officials of the World Food Program and Sarvodaya about the practical problem that can occur. We were given 24 hours to select low-income families and those who were not selected according to the scoring system were given 48 hours to appeal. My office remained open on Saturday and Sunday and we resubmitted names of several individuals that gave appeals. Distribution of funds has ended now. I am not aware of the list of names for Ballahela and Bahanella divisions. That list requires my approval. As of March 17, 2023, no list of names had been presented to me for approval,” said De Silva.
 Additionally, the Divisional Secretary stated that she did not know how money was given to individuals without proper approval.

We also contacted Buddhi Mahesh Gunasena, Acting Grama Niladhari Officer for both Ballahela and Bahanella divisions with regards. Gunasena stated that 95 families in his division were eligible to receive aid money. “There are issues with the scoring system. It was created by Sarvodaya and we did not make any mistake. Those who scored 5-11 were selected as eligible to receive funds. That list may include people with shops and vehicles, while some poor people may not have included. We have nothing to do with that. We only followed the criteria given by Sarvodaya. I am not obliged to provide the list of names of those who got funds even though you make a request through the Right to Information Act. We were given 24 hours to select the eligible families and that was not enough time for the task. The final list does not require the approval of the Divisional Secretary and Sarvodaya distributes the aid money after finalizing the list,” he added.

According to former Deraniyagala Pradesha Sabha member Chandana, this program is being implemented everywhere in Sri Lanka as a pilot project in selected Divisional Secretariats in selected districts. “A committee is formed through the Grama Niladhari officer who knows the information of the village. This includes government officials representing the area and local politicians. This committee selects low-income families based on the given criteria, and the GN officer makes the list and gives it to the two Sarvodaya officials. They select a few names as a sample to verify the details in the list, and the money is given accordingly. Sarvodaya only supervises the programme. This assistance was given to all 26 divisions of the Deraniyagala Divisional Secretariat. However, there are problems in all of them including Rattakkanda and Burutahena. The program took about three days and not 24 hours,” he said.  Chandana also pointed out that it is a significant issue that the GN officer does not know about the low-income families in his division.

Y.R Ananda, a former Deraniyagala Pradesha Sabha member representing the Ballahela division, commented that a 10-member committee, consisting of government officials representing the area, local politicians, and five individuals from the village, created the WFP list of names of low-income families in Ballahela. “However, the approved funds were not allocated for the list of names created by this committee. The final list of names has been prepared based on the Grama Niladhari Officer’s requirements. Ballahela and Bahanella GN divisions are situated some distance away from Deraniyagala, and GN officers do not work in this area. As a result, the current GN officer has been rotating between these two domains for an extended period of time. If he is not familiar with the specifics of low-income families in his area that is a huge problem,” said Ananda.  According to him, there are individuals in the two divisions who are more deserving of assistance than 20 percent of the families listed, yet their names are not included. Sufficient time was given to prepare the list, but the task was not executed adequately. Therefore, he suggested conducting a re-survey to identify the genuinely low-income earners and provide them with the necessary aid. Also, those who have not received assistance thus far could also be considered for aid money, he added.

Mark Perera, Sarvodaya Project Coordinator in charge of this project, commenting on the allegations against Sarvodaya stated that the families who scored more than 5 points in the villages were selected based on the criteria given to receive the aid money. “The bank records of the families, who scored over 5, were obtained, and the money was forwarded to the banks after funds were provided to the World Food Program. The list of names was not created by Sarvodaya, but by village committees consisting of government officials and villagers. The WFP used that list of names to distribute the money. The selection criteria were given by the WFP, and the families eligible for assistance were selected based on those criteria. This project is to be implemented all throughout Sri Lanka. The WFP selects the districts where the program will be implemented. This project was launched in Colombo, Nuwara Eliya, Galle, Vavuniya and Ampara districts without any issue. 2-3 days were given to select low-income families and not 24 hours as alleged. There was a 48-hour period for appeals. Sarvodaya only coordinated the program when preparing these listswhile the rest was done by village committees. Funds were released to the families only after the list was approved by Divisional Secretaries. Deraniyagala Divisional Secretary gave approval to the name list of the GN divisions of the DS division. It is only after receiving approval that a list can be forwarded to the WFP.

“The bank records of the families, who scored over 5, were obtained, and the money was forwarded to the banks after funds were provided to the World Food Program. The list of names was not created by Sarvodaya, but by village committees consisting of government officials and villagers,”  
Mark Perera Sarvodaya Project Coordinator

Despite making several attempts to contact the World Food Program regarding this issue there was no response from them. The list of low-income families and of those who received funds in the Ballahela GN division was requested via [email protected] from the Deraniyagala Divisional Secretary under the Right to Information Act. But the Assistant Divisional Secretary, K Ramesh Raja, stated on March 20, 2023, that the information cannot be provided as the public authority does not possess it. According to him, if there are no details available about low-income, middle-income, and high-income families in Ballehala, the manner in which the 20,000 rupees were distributed to low-income families is concerning. Furthermore, if the Divisional Secretary does not have the information of those residents, then the personal data of people in that area have come into the possession of a non-governmental organization, which is also a serious issue. The authorities must address this situation with due diligence.