BISP termed largest, unique social protection programme: Pakistan

Sunday, Lahore :

A spokesman of the Bilawal House has said that the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) was the ‘largest and unique social protection programme’ of the former PPP democratic government providing direct financial assistance to 22% vulnerable population of the country consisting 7 million families. This programme is making difference between starvation and food security for poorest of the poor, he added.

He said that the programme titled as “Benazir Income Support Programme Act” was unanimously passed by the Parliament. He said that the PPP Government initiated the programme in 2008 to translate the vision of the Shaheed Benazir Bhutto focused to the welfare of those whose subsistence was at stake due to acute poverty.

He said that the efficiency and the reach of the programme to such a large chunk of country’s population had been appreciated by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank and their evaluation mattered by any standard. He further said that even the Secretary General of the United Nations Mr. Ban Ki-Moon while commenting on the programme urged the other developing countries to replicate it because of its transparency, efficacy and usefulness, adding its success story in Pakistan spoke volumes and was therefore worth emulating.

He said that the credibility of the programme was above board and it was because of this that the USAID and the British DFID had contributed $160 million and 300 million pounds respectively for the BISP. Who will contribute such a huge amount of tax payers’ money of other countries if the programme does not meet the criterion of internal accountability and third party validation, he asked from the critics. He pointed out that the programme was a shining example of transparency, accountability and effectiveness and use of technology under one roof through one window operation. He further said that under the programme, three million poor children would be enrolled for free education besides providing the services of micro-finance, health insurance, technical skills to youth so that they could lead a decent life while contributing in the national economy at the same time.

The spokesman said that the critics of the programme were politically motivated and did not care for the corers of poor people who had been having two time square meal through this Programme. The other very important dimension of the programme, the spokesman said, was the empowerment of women because woman head of the family was entitled to receive the financial assistance. The women empowerment is equally of paramount importance for the nation building process.

He further said that about 25 Million women had to get National identity Card because it was the condition for the deserving person to have I.D card for applying assistance under the programme.

source: http://www.pakobserver.net / Pakistan Observer / Home / by Staff Reporter / Lahore, Sunday – April 21st, 2013

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