Govt could use half of the budget for 2009-10

ISLAMABAD: The government  could spend slightly over half of the budget allocated for the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) in the 11 months of the fiscal year 2009-10 due to poor management and capacity constraints, The Express Tribune has learnt.

Naveed Akbar, Director Operation of the BISP, admitted that the management could only distribute Rs40 billion from July to May. “The remaining Rs30 billion will be utilised by the end of this month,” he told The Express Tribune.

Ironically, top bosses of the BISP are claiming to perform  a miracle: they say they will distribute Rs30 billion in remaining 30 days of the outgoing financial year.

However, the government is likely to propose Rs90 billion to the BISP for the fiscal year 2010-11 as announced by BISP Chairperson Farzana Raja.

Akbar claimed that they used the money transparently and the activities planned for 2009-10 went according to the schedule.

“We have completed the pilot survey on poverty in 16 districts and also kicked off the National Survey on Poverty from Balochistan under the Aaghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan Package. Besides this, complaint cells have also been established at tehsil level,” he claimed. To further ensure transparency, the technology-based Benazir Smart Card has been launched, he added. Asked about the details of Rs40 billion utilised and the remaining amount, Akbar said, “I do not know where the amount was used or is planned to be used.”

According to the Finance Ministry record, delays in the rollout of the poverty-scorecard system will slow the delivery of assistance and now the government will be able to spend only Rs50 billion in the entire fiscal year.

When quizzed about this, Akbar said there was no change in the amount allocated for the BISP. The pilot survey in 16 districts as announced in the budget session last year was started in December 2009 and completed in March 2010. “Under this survey about 0.7 million deserving families were registered,” he added.

“In Balochistan, the survey will be completed by the end of June this year. However, so far four districts have been surveyed and the data has been sent to the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) for verification,” said Akbar. “The National Survey on Poverty will be in full swing by the end of June this year across the nation,” he said.

He further said besides this it is hoped that by the end of March 2011 the poverty scorecard system would be rolled out across the country.

Published in the Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2010.