Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe ordered that all post-disaster relief activities and compensation payments for the people affected by floods are to be completed by November.
Chairing a progress review meeting in the South yesterday (13) that was attended by public officials from Galle, Ratnapura, Kalutara and Matara, the Premier noticed that relief payments provided by the government had been unjustly delayed.
He questioned public officials as to the reason that the payments had not reached the affected populace.
The Prime Minister stated that the economies of the affected areas could have been restored had the relief payments reached the people on time.
The PM pointed out that 1,361 applications were received to obtain compensation for damaged houses and shops in Matara totaling to Rs 356 million but not a single payment has been made by October 10.
He further went on to state that the National Insurance Trust Fund (NIFT) had to give detailed reasons for the delay of payments.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe criticized the sluggishness of public officials stating that the funds would have better reached the people had the currency notes be dropped out of a helicopter.
