Govt Committed to Welfare of People

President Zardari

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has said that the government was committed to women empowerment, improvement in the living standards of the people and to reach out to the poor.

He was addressing the launching ceremony of the mobile phone banking for Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) beneficiaries of northern Punjab the other day, the draw of Waseela-e-Haq and distribution of Life Insurance at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. The function was attended by a large number of BISP beneficiaries from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and northern Punjab. The President, by pressing a button, initiated the computer balloting for the 21st and 22nd draws of Waseela-e-Haq and distributed soft term loans of Rs 150,000 amongst those selected in the previous ballots. He also handed over free mobile phones and life insurance certificates amongst the BISP beneficiaries. President’s youngest daughter Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, accompanied the President at the event.

Speaking on the occasion, President Zardari said mobile phone banking would ensure that money was paid to the most deserving in a speedy and transparent manner and hoped that soon every beneficiary of BISP across Pakistan would start receiving cash grants through mobile phones. The President said that the deserving would get their full share of assistance without any fear of leakage or misappropriation. He said the launching of mobile banking was well-timed to pay homage to Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, whose birthday celebrations were about to commence and on whose vision the whole programme was based.

The President said that Shaheed Benazir Bhutto lived and laid down her life for the empowerment of the poor and downtrodden, particularly the women. He said the birth anniversary of Shaheed Mohtarma was an appropriate occasion to launch new initiatives for the poor and the needy and said it reflects her feelings for the poor and vulnerable sections of the society. The President said that Life Insurance under Waseela-e-Sehat and Vocational training for BISP beneficiaries under Waseela-e-Rozgar schemes were already underway.

The President also thanked the international community and development partners for their help in this initiative. He said that he was personally monitoring the progress of the Poverty Scorecard Survey and stated that he was pleased to learn that the national roll out of Poverty Scorecard survey was progressing well. The President said that we have to be very vigilant in ensuring that the public money was directly and transparently paid to the most deserving.

Chairperson BISP Farzana Raja said the programme has run transparently and in the first phase Rs 54 billion have been distributed amongst the beneficiaries, who were recommended by parliamentarians of all political parties other than the PPP. She said, on the directions of the President and with the approval of the Prime Minister health insurance scheme would be launched in four districts in July.

Gilani orders speedy expansion of BISP

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has directed the speedy expansion of BISP with the introduction of new technologies to provide financial benefits to vulnerable sections in all parts of the country.

Addressing a ceremony organised by BISP here to hand over life insurance certificates and cheques to women and people affected by bomb blasts, he said the BISP is a real reflection of dreams of Benazir Bhutto for the poor people. He said BISP is an important step of the government for the social protection of the poor people and it is a matter of pride that the programme has become the centre of hopes of people due to its transparency, objectivity and performance. The World Bank has also accepted the credibility of BISP in three years it has reached four million families which is a big success, he noted.

He praised Chairperson BISP Farzana Raja for taking forward the mission of Benazir Bhutto. She wanted to make Pakistan a truly welfare state and she always deeply felt for the pain of the deprived sections and poor people, he remarked.

The Prime Minister stated that BISP was playing an important role for the alleviation of poverty and to empower women besides providing facilities of life insurance, vocational training and interest free loans so that women can start their own businesses under Waseela-e-Haq programme.

He expressed the hope that the development partners would help in making BISP more effective and efficient. The Prime Minister said the government would ensure that the deserving families are provided health facilities under Waseela Sahet Programme. He said BISP is also providing financial assistance to families of citizens affected by terrorism and has started imparted training to one member of a needy family under BISP’s Waseela Rozgar Scheme.

BISP a commendable step: Philippines’ envoy
BISP is a commendable programme and a step in right direction for poverty alleviation. Philippines also have a social safety net initiative to curb poverty and women and children have been focused by this initiative. Pakistan and the Philippines may share their experiences regarding these initiatives aiming to provide relief to the poor segments of society.

Jesus I. Yabes, Ambassador of the Philippines designated to Pakistan, said this while talking to Farzana Raja. He informed Chairperson BISP about conditional cash grant linked to education that has been launched in the Philippines. Farzana Raja presented details of various initiatives of BISP aiming at poverty alleviation as well as women empowerment in society. She also informed the ambassador that poverty survey, a transparent and effective mechanism has also been initiated by BISP to identify deserving poor families. Farzana Raja said that conditional cash transfer initiative is also in the pipeline and would be introduced in the near future. She said that to make the delivery mechanism of BISP more effective and transparent, state of the art technology i.e. Benazir Smart Cards and Mobile Phone Banking has also been introduced successfully. Yabes also extended an invitation to Chairperson BISP to pay visit to the Philippines which she accepted.