BISP’s funding may be slashed by 30%
Programme’s budget likely to be cut to Rs50billion.
Allocation: Rs60b was the proposed budget for the current fiscal year, which was later on increased to Rs70b.
ISLAMABAD:
With the possibility of changing Benazir Income Support Programme’s (BISP) name and its disbursement mechanism, authorities may slash funding of the flagship social safety initiative by almost 30% to Rs50 billion from the next fiscal year.
Initially, authorities were considering increasing BISP’s funding by 7% to Rs75 billion. However, now it is a possibility that BISP funds may be reduced to Rs50 billon for the next fiscal year, according to sources in the finance ministry.
For the current fiscal year, the government initially proposed a budget of Rs60 billion, which was later on increased to Rs70 billion when President Asif Ali Zardari intervened. So far, the management has disbursed Rs40 billion, said BISP’s Director General Finance Jamal Nasir Usmani.
According to finance ministry officials, the programme’s management had asked for a minimum budget of Rs70 billion for the next fiscal year.
Under BISP, a stipend worth Rs1,000 per month is distributed among the targeted lowest strata of the country, chosen through the poverty scorecard survey.
Like the previous year, finance ministry officials claimed the programme was hampered by capacity constraints and the allocation of a large budget would not serve any purpose.
However, BISP officials said the management had suspended the disbursements after March 16 in order to avoid criticisms regarding the use of social safety network for getting political advantages during the elections.
Officials of the programme said BISP has restarted to distribute stipends from last week.
Since its inception, the Pakistan Peoples Party-led coalition government had spent about Rs180 billion under the BISP. The programme, however, continues to struggle as it has missed its coverage targets set for the previous years.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 4th, 2013.
With the possibility of changing Benazir Income Support Programme’s (BISP) name and its disbursement mechanism, authorities may slash funding of the flagship social safety initiative by almost 30% to Rs50 billion from the next fiscal year.
Initially, authorities were considering increasing BISP’s funding by 7% to Rs75 billion. However, now it is a possibility that BISP funds may be reduced to Rs50 billon for the next fiscal year, according to sources in the finance ministry.
For the current fiscal year, the government initially proposed a budget of Rs60 billion, which was later on increased to Rs70 billion when President Asif Ali Zardari intervened. So far, the management has disbursed Rs40 billion, said BISP’s Director General Finance Jamal Nasir Usmani.
According to finance ministry officials, the programme’s management had asked for a minimum budget of Rs70 billion for the next fiscal year.
Under BISP, a stipend worth Rs1,000 per month is distributed among the targeted lowest strata of the country, chosen through the poverty scorecard survey.
Like the previous year, finance ministry officials claimed the programme was hampered by capacity constraints and the allocation of a large budget would not serve any purpose.
However, BISP officials said the management had suspended the disbursements after March 16 in order to avoid criticisms regarding the use of social safety network for getting political advantages during the elections.
Officials of the programme said BISP has restarted to distribute stipends from last week.
Since its inception, the Pakistan Peoples Party-led coalition government had spent about Rs180 billion under the BISP. The programme, however, continues to struggle as it has missed its coverage targets set for the previous years.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 4th, 2013.