ISLAMBAD:
The Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) is yet to approve its service structure, although it has been in operation for 18 years, with employees ranging from managers to drivers still working, officials of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation and Social Security informed on Thursday.
The committee asked BISP to submit a summary to the Ministry of Finance seeking approval for permanent recruitment, while also requesting the six partner banks of the program to increase the number of payment agents to improve service delivery.
The committee, chaired by Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur, questioned why the BISP, established in 2008, had failed to recruit regular employees.
“From directors to drivers, everyone is an MP. Why haven’t the regular employees been appointed?” » asked Talpur during the meeting.
Another secretary told the committee that all staff members were currently on duty and the matter had already been submitted to the Ministry of Finance. He added that the workload of the organization had increased considerably and even the sanctioned posts had not been filled.
Terming the situation a “crisis”, Talpur urged officials to resolve the problem.
BISP Secretary Amir Ali Ahmed said the organization was ready to forward a summary to the Finance Ministry’s austerity committee if requested by the parliamentary committee.
“If full approval is not granted, we can at least make the organization functional,” he said.
The committee then directed the BISP to submit the permanent recruitment proposal to the Finance Ministry.
Ahmed informed the lawmakers that BISP would move to a fully digital payment system from July 16.
Under the new mechanism, beneficiaries will be able to receive payments through bank accounts as well as digital financial services including Easypaisa, JazzCash and UPaisa. The move aims to eliminate long queues at payment centers by transferring funds directly to beneficiaries’ accounts, allowing them to withdraw money at their convenience.
Partnership
The Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), in collaboration with UN agencies, has extended the Benazir Nashonuma program for another three years to protect an additional 3.3 million children and women from malnutrition across Pakistan.
The three-year extension was jointly announced by BISP, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), reaffirming their commitment to improving maternal and child nutrition and reducing malnutrition among vulnerable communities across the country.
