President Peña asked legislators to put aside political issues and approve this initiative in the National Congress.
The President of the Republic, Santiago Peña, and his cabinet of ministers presented the bill “Zero Hunger in schools and the educational system” this Monday (29) at a press conference at the Government Palace. The head of the Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC), Luis Ramírez, announced that this platform is of vital importance for the development of students in schools and colleges, within the framework of good nutrition.
“The seed that we are planting today is the best seed that can be planted so that Paraguayan education can take the leap that we all want so much,” said Minister Ramírez. The president was accompanied by the vice president of the Republic, Pedro Alliana, the first lady Leticia Ocampos; the head of the Chamber of Deputies, Raúl Latorre; Senator Colym Soroka, president of the Permanent Commission of Congress, as well as Comptroller General Camilo Benítez.
“The zero hunger project in our schools and the educational system arises from a deep commitment to our nation and a full awareness that education is not only an essential public good but also a fundamental right of all Paraguayans,” said Peña, indicating that the school feeding system can no longer be allowed to continue in the same way, and the objective of this project is to end this deficient mechanism and provide the minimum conditions for children and adolescents for education.
The president also highlighted the great impact that the “lapidary” report of the Comptroller General of the Republic had, which revealed a failure in nutrition in educational institutions. “The Comptroller’s Office has visualized what were anecdotes that we learned in the media, in political disputes. The Comptroller’s Office has given it a scientific content, a scientific basis to conclude today that the school feeding program is a failure in Paraguay. It is a failure that we Paraguayans cannot accept to continue, I do not accept this reality,” he said.
He added that this report revealed the weaknesses of the National Fund for Public Investment and Development (Fonacide) in regards to school feeding. “More than 10 years after its implementation, Fonacide has proven to be completely inefficient and I am not speaking about it in light of what we see today. In the past, as Minister of Finance, I have had to preside over the Education Excellence Fund with its lights, but mostly its shadows,” said Peña.
Within this government plan, the creation of the National School Feeding Council is also established, which will regulate administrative and operational controls for accountability and inspections. “To prevent resources from being squandered and in this way guarantee that children receive school lunch on time and in form, and that the products are of good quality,” said the president.
The bill will be sent to the National Congress for treatment, so the president asked legislators for responsibility and seriousness to advance this initiative, and also asked to leave political issues aside.