Opposition Leader, Ro Teimumu Kepa has criticised the delay in the free milk programme for all Year 1 students, labelling the Education Minister, Doctor Mahendra Reddy’s statement as a ‘cop‑out’ excuse.
However Doctor Reddy has said in an interview with Fijivillage that proper processes need to be followed before the programme kicks off.
Ro Teimumu said that she doubts the free milk programme would even be implemented.
She said the Opposition believes the government’s overly ambitious plan was unworkable when considering the challenging logistics of supplying milk to all Year One students in Fiji.
Doctor Mahendra Reddy said Fiji Dairy Limited is working out all the logistics.
He said it was just impossible to provide free milk on day 1 of the first term.
However he said the new programme will start soon.
Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama said last week that he is disappointed that they have not met their objective of providing every Year One school child with free milk promised in their election manifesto for the start of the school year.
However he said it will be done.
The Prime Minister also said that they cannot afford short cuts in terms of the quality of the milk, its packaging or its distribution.
He said it is important to get the program right.
The free milk program received an allocation of $3.5 million in the 2015 budget, whereby each student in year one will be provided 250ml of milk per day.
20,010 Year 1 students are expected to benefit from this.
Stay tuned for the latest news on our radio stations
