We will eradicate malnutrition - Mahinda

by Rohan Mathes

Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse yesterday asserted he will provide every school-going child a nutritious meal within a self-sufficient Sri Lanka and thereby totally eradicate starvation in the country.

Prime Minister Rajapakse was speaking after participating in an array of events in Kurunegala, which included a meeting with the Kurunegala Sinhala Business community, the laying of the foundation stone for the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital's underground passageway and the inauguration of the completed District Secretariat office complex in Kurunegala.

The Prime Minister further said that with the cost of living sky rocketing day by day, the masses have been plunged into an economic crisis. They now have to seek the causes for this situation and find solutions.

He explained that by the provision of a meal to schoolchildren, he intends to resolve the 'paddy marketing' issue of the farmer. The process would also ensure a fair price for the vegetables and the grain, and thereby contribute to the uplift of our economy.

Steps would also be taken to develop our local industries and the irrigation systems. His Government will develop indigenous economic systems.

"We will inherit a sea area which is 24 times our land area. There would be unused oil, gas and marine resources within it. When I become President, I will ensure that all these resources would be utilised to make our nation a prosperous one," he said.