Eyeaan
Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
First so nice of you to appreciate and recognize the efforts of Dr. Sania Nishter and her team. No doubt it is a teamwork, lacking which the transparency and efficiency of the program wouldn't have been achieved.
Let me accept when PMIK took her in his team I was very much doubtful expecting a big failure. Our past experience from women coming out of ngo sector has not been so good, if not outright disappointing. BB had brought shehnaaz wazeer and many others but they had acted more as party royals and too illusive to the concerns of common people. PPP breeds corrupt practices in any case. Experience of Musharraf's ngo based team in his first part was similar. In my biased opinion ngo type seem to be self-serving, too class conscious and living in bubble. Dr Sania Nishter is a different breed, rooted in people and apt to her subject and with empathy. (or maybe woman out of kpk have some extraordinary caliber!) Hope that the competence and empathy has special dividend..
Second, I'll disagree that Ahsaas program and BISP are the same, and only difference is in some management reforms. They have two different concepts and intended goals. BISP is what ' an income support" programs and a safely-valve. (well-known malpractices and inefficiencies are inherent to such schemes).
Ahsaas, on the other hand, is an integral and comprehensive program for poverty management, gradual enrichment and finally for poverty alleviation. It brings a number of existing and fresh social service programs under one umbrella, and with one measure, and to rationalize them simultaneously to pull families out of poverty. It includes digitizing and managing the support funds (through banking sector it ensures rightful and efficient spending of money,) micro-finance, training for self-employment, assessment of educational expenditures of the families, health benefits, scholarships, and women empowerment. The whole scheme will induct much more funds than direct incomes and deposits- and all of this with one database and integrated measure so that true efficiency of different efforts may be assessed. At present, the housing sector is not included but if in future government helps families in this respect (like land or low-cost housing), Ahsaas can pull a significant section of the population out of poverty -- given that it is run for 8-10 years and without political interference.
Third technically, distribution of 12k under Ahsaas are not "income support" but a part of market stimulus package. (Complete package is of 1200 billions and maybe enhanced later) There was sudden decrease of incomes and sales due to the current crisis and government had to inject the money in the system: Exporters, small manufacturers and traders are also asking for similar dole outs It was government decision to put money directly in the hand of consumer and then to circulate in the market (PMLN wouldn't had made this decision due to their core constituency) Direct money into the hands of consumer might ensure equitable regional distribution of stimulus and more efficiency. With all praise for this support program, imho, government should distribute a much larger portion of package to the consumers, expand the program to the "sufaidposh" and irregular employee and small vendors (more needy people are yet out due to old poverty measures) otherwise exporters, manufacturers and even government sectors like pia, railways utilities are after the money. IK has much (maybe rightful) pressure from the vested interests but let's see who wins
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