‘Ehsaas Programme aiming at federal-provincial synergy’

LAHORE: The prime minister’s Ehsaas Programme is working towards federal-provincial synergy in order to avoid fragmentation and duplication of social protection projects, said the PM’s Special Assistant on Social Protection and Poverty alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar.

She expressed these views at a meeting on Saturday attended by officials from the Planning and Development Board. Planning and Development Chairman Habibur Rehman Gilani, Punjab Social Protection Authority Vice Chairman Ali Asjad Malhi, Punjab Information Technology Board Chairman Azhar Mansoor and other senior officials were also present.

During the meeting, it was highlighted that the government plan to roll out the multi-billion rupee Punjab Ehsaas Programme to uplift the lives of marginalised elements of society including the elderly, widows and orphans.

Nishtar maintained that social protection is one of the key areas of the overall vision of the prime minister. She stated that the government is moving away from the supply side of social protection to demand based.

An effort is also being made to make the procurement process transparent by setting up new processes to avoid financial mismanagement while also discouraging the agent mafia that is prevalent in social protection schemes, she said. Planning and Development Board Chairman Habibur Rehman said that this is the new era for partnerships where there will be no duplication of intervention and efforts.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2019.