Although the spirit of Ramadan encourages people to extend a helping hand to those surviving on the margins of society, state-sponsored welfare initiatives cannot be run simply on the magnanimity of the incumbent leaders, without a pragmatic consideration of their associated costs and benefits.
This year, the Punjab government has allocated Rs30 billion for the Nigahban Ramadan Program. Unlike the preceding years, when ration bags would be distributed, this year the government has decided to grant cash transfers to underprivileged families, who will receive the money through pay orders. Although the program promises monetary assistance of Rs10,000 to 3 million families, critics believe that several loopholes in the program will ultimately prevent the welfare funds from reaching deserving households.
Dr Aslam Qais, an economist, revealed that the Punjab government had appointed the Bank of Punjab for distributing money to the deserving families, but no one knew from where the bank would arrange these funds. "The example of the past is before us. The names of the families of big bureaucrats were included in the Benazir Income Support Program, so why has the same method been adopted again. In every government, some people become rich under the guise of the poor," said Dr Qais.
Recent reports support Dr Qais's concerns, with financial irregularities amounting to a staggering Rs141 billion uncovered in BISP for the fiscal year 2023-24. As per the claims of the report, more than 3 million out of 9.3 million beneficiaries did not have a registered family CNIC while payments totaling over Rs116.95 billion were made without verification to government employees, businesspersons, and other ineligible individuals.
Critics have expressed similar doubts over the feasibility of the Nigahban Ramadan Program, the latest white elephant of the Punjab government, under which the Bank of Punjab will be paid Rs519 million while Pakistan Post will be paid Rs825 million as service charges for the dispatching of pay orders.
Renowned forensic auditor, Kokab Jamal Zuberi opined that although disbursing money through pay orders was a better practice than distributing rations, there was also a possibility of fraud and registration of ghost individuals, as was seen in BISP. "Apart from this, it is also not clear whether the huge amount of Rs30 billion that is being distributed to deserving families is being paid from loans obtained from other countries or from the Zakat and Ushr funds," expressed Zuberi.
Similarly, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Lahore's President, Imtiaz Sheikh lambasted the Punjab government's decision to offer cash transfers. "Last year, they distributed ration bags by putting up pictures of Nawaz Sharif and barely 15 per cent of the deserving people could get them. The same will happen again since they have not yet been able to finalize the data due to which some mismanagement is expected," predicted Sheikh.
On the other hand, Salma Butt, Assistant to the Chief Minister of Punjab for Price Control and Accommodations Management, disclosed that last year, several loopholes were discovered in the process of distributing ration bags during Ramadan. "This year, families can either get this money after depositing the pay order in their bank accounts or they can contact any bank agent in their area. The aim of this move is to ensure transparency," claimed Butt.
Disagreeing with Butt, Dr Qais believed that the best way to provide relief to the people during Ramadan was to abolish sales tax on a few basic food items including ghee, sugar, and flour. "This will reduce prices and everyone will get relief," he concluded.
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