“Not my policy to let people starve”

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has stated that it is his policy not to leave anyone hungry in the face of the food crisis.

Speaking at a meeting of the Committee on Food Security at the Prime Minister’s Office today (17), the Prime Minister said that although the food crisis could directly affect 4 million to 5 million Sri Lankans in the future, steps would be taken to control it.

He instructed the officials to pay more attention to the children and the adults in particular.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe also directed the appointment of a committee headed by Parliamentarian Nimal Lansa to look into the mitigation efforts of the food crisis, adding that he wanted the plan prepared by this committee within two weeks.

He further said that 225 divisions should be handed over to the Members of Parliament and the rest to the top officials including the Secretaries to the Ministries and the Private Sector to provide leadership to develop and reach the targets of 336 Divisional Secretariats in the country under the Food Security Program. It was proposed to recruit graduates from the Divisional Secretariats for this purpose.

The Premier instructed the officials to give priority to providing food, gas and fuel to the fishing community.

Special emphasis was placed on food security, especially for children’s homes, nursing homes and homes for persons with disabilities.

Wickremesinghe also stressed the need for a medium and long term plan for a modern agricultural system that would create a regionally competitive market and called for it to be formulated urgently.