Govt workforce increased

M.A.R. Manukulasooriya Hiriyala group correspondent

During the UNP regime Ranil Wickremesinghe signed an agreement with the World Bank to reduce government servants from 900,000 to 600,000. But the UPFA government has increased it upto 1,300,000 said Healthcare and Nutrition Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva.

The Minister said so at a function held at the office of the Provincial Director of Health Services to donate dental chairs worth three million Rupees to hospitals in Kurunegala and Puttalam districts.

The Minister said the main objective of the Health Ministry was to provide a better dental service to the people. So far the country has not been able to achieve the target due to various reasons. One is the dearth of Dentists. The other one is the shortage of equipment required for the dental service.

The health ministry conducted a survey and collected data regarding the vacancies exist throughout the country. Recently one hundred dental therapists were recruited. A program has been drawn up to strengthen the school dental service too. During the UNP regime only Rs. 4,000 million was allocated for medicine.

The government led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa has allocated Rs. 12,000 million for medicine. Only Rs. 34,000 million was allocated to the whole health sector in the country in 2004 under the UNP regime.

This government allocated Rs. 89,000 million in 2009. This amount will be increased upto Rs. 2,700 billion by next year”, he said.

Health and Disease Prevention Minister Jayarathne Herath said the Ministry was faced with the kidney patients’ problem. A program has been implemented in the North Western Province to identify the patients who require treatment. The main objective is to minimize the number of kidney patients, he said.

Provincial health services Director Dr. R.M.S.K. Bandara, Kurunegala District health services director Dr. Palitha V. Yapa and several others spoke.