BISP disbursed funds to ‘dead people in 2018-19’

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday reviewed Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division (PASSD) report 2019-2020, revealing 23 percent of the 92 beneficiaries, taken as sample, were dead.

The review meeting was informed that 53 percent of the tested sample had ‘ghost beneficiaries’ whose record could not be found.

Unearthing embezzlement to the tune of billions of rupees in BISP programme, PAC disclosed that Rs19 billion of the funds were distributed outside the affected districts.

It transpired that fifty-one franchises were used for payments outside the districts concerned in financial year 2018-2019.

Highlighting the suspicious activity that raises eyebrows, report mentioned that thirty-nine districts’ funds were disbursed through Tariq mobile shop in Multan.

BISP secretary cited migration to be the reason behind ghost beneficiaries, adding that the disbursement through biometric has improved the situation.

Admitting that the biometric system was also being misused, the secretary added that the talks to open bank accounts of the deserving citizens were underway with State Bank of Pakistan.