Farmers are not Government workers, but can we put a price to their immeasurable service, said Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena.
The Prime Minister said this at the District Coordinating Committee meeting held at the Jaffna Divisional Secretariat Office on Friday (12).
He also engaged in distribution of rice and egg incubators for the low-income families at the event.
The Prime Minister also said: “This Government is dedicated to improving the living conditions of the Jaffna Peninsula. In order to increase the living conditions, we have embarked on an increase in most of the expenditure needed by the departments, and also special allocations for rural and urban development in the Local Government area.
“As the Prime Minister, it gives me a special privilege to be with you all, in order to monitor the progress made by all of you, as well as to get a little feedback where we stand today in relation to the reports given.
“The President and the Government are committed to improve the services and living conditions, therefore, to provide the necessary infrastructure for developments, which means much to your area.
“We appreciate the immeasurable efforts of farmers because farmers are all in the private sector. Let us not forget, farmers are all in the private sector, either in the ownership or in the tenancy. They are private contributors to the national development of the economy.
“Another area I would like to bring attention to is, in relation to schoolchildren. The President and the Government are totally committed to giving highest priority for education. We want every child to get the opportunity of being educated and go up to the universities and thereafter to new programmes for training, for technical and professional fields. There is a budget allocation that has been awarded for that, so, we should all get-together and try to achieve its fulfillment.
“The poverty numbers are fairly managed in our country. Poverty is one of the key problems in any economy, any country, you would agree with me, the richest country, in the United States even, food stamps have been given. So all economies in the world are going through difficult situations in relation to the poor.
We have to look after the poor especially in these remote villages of the Northern Province.”
Minister Douglas Devanada, Governor P. S. M. Charles, MPs M. A. Sumanthiran, Angajan Ramanathan, C. Vigneshwaran, Dharmalingam Siddharthan, Yadamini Gunawardena, Public Administration Ministry Secretary Pradeep Yasaratne, District Secretary Ambalawanar Sivabalasundaran and both public and private officials were present.
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