Prime Minister must develop a plan that would end poverty in real terms
ABBOTTABAD: It was another Saturday morning when my mother and I were discussing the now-a-joke “Chicken-egg” idea by Prime Minister Imran Khan. I was laughing at the vacuous poverty alleviation plan whilst my mom argued in favour of the fact that something is better than nothing for people who are living below the poverty line to generate substantial income. Whereas the argument put forward is somewhat agreeable, I still don’t believe a Prime Minister of Pakistan presenting such an idea for raising the graph of economic growth. As the impact created by the idea would remain confined to one that would generate hand-to-mouth income, which might eradicate poverty, but it would do less in improving the indicators of economic growth.
Much to her excitement, my maid who overheard our conversation, instantly popped the question inquiring where she can get free chicks from, as she would for sure want to have food available for consumption, that would also save her the labour of working as house help.
Regardless of how big of a joke the chicken-egg idea has become, the Prime Minister must develop a plan that would end poverty in real terms. Provision of chicken or eggs much like substantial farming is a method for short-term sustenance. Further, as the Prime Minister later quoted Bill Gates as the initial proposer of the idea, it is important to consider the socio-economic and regional factors that play a pivotal role in successful implementation of an idea.
Mahrukh Ibrahim
Published in The Express Tribune, December 3rd, 2018.
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