LAHORE, Jan 19 : President Asif Ali Zardari has said that poverty alleviation and empowerment of women was a central plank of the Party and the government and the Benazir Income Support Program was the vehicle to extricate the poor from abject poverty and "end the generational poverty trap of the poor".
This he said while presiding over the fourth balloting of beneficiaries under the Waseela e Haq program of the Benazir Income Support Program on the sixth day of his visit to Lahore in the Governor House Lahore today.
Briefing the journalists Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar said that under the special "Waseela e Haq" a one time interest free loan of three hundred thousand rupees repayable in easy monthly installments in twelve to fifteen years is given to poorest of the poor selected through computerized balloting.
The amount is to be spent on pre-defined income generating schemes by the poor beneficiaries to help extricate them from the ghettos of poverty, he said.
Over seven hundred beneficiaries are selected every month through a computerized balloting. Previously balloting was held in October, November and December in Islamabad and today's balloting was the fourth since the launch of the program and the first one in Lahore.
The event in governor House Lahore today was also witnessed by ministers, senior government officials, representatives of NGOs and the poor families.
He said he was pleased to learn that the BISP program had been extended to Gilgit-Baltistan also where more than 50,000 deserving families are being facilitated under the program.
He said that it was an unprecedented program that gave the poor people a lifetime chance to come out of the poverty traps.
The BISP has been designed to be a comprehensive social protection scheme, and a platform for women empowerment, health and accident insurance, vocational training and interest free financing for self employment for the poor, he said.
The Benazir Support Programme will be the vehicle for banishing poverty and emancipation of the poor and the downtrodden, the President said.
The President also directed the government to complete the nationwide survey of the poorest of the poor in a transparent manner. He said that 34 billion rupees were allocated for the BISP in the budget for 2008-09 which has been enhanced to Rs. 70 billion for the year 2009-10 to give cash assistance to 5 million families.
The coverage of the Program will be increased to 7 million families over the medium term by the year 2010-11.
President Zardari said that the program was aimed at empowering women as benefits under it are available only to the female head of the family.INP
This he said while presiding over the fourth balloting of beneficiaries under the Waseela e Haq program of the Benazir Income Support Program on the sixth day of his visit to Lahore in the Governor House Lahore today.
Briefing the journalists Spokesperson to the President former Senator Farhatullah Babar said that under the special "Waseela e Haq" a one time interest free loan of three hundred thousand rupees repayable in easy monthly installments in twelve to fifteen years is given to poorest of the poor selected through computerized balloting.
The amount is to be spent on pre-defined income generating schemes by the poor beneficiaries to help extricate them from the ghettos of poverty, he said.
Over seven hundred beneficiaries are selected every month through a computerized balloting. Previously balloting was held in October, November and December in Islamabad and today's balloting was the fourth since the launch of the program and the first one in Lahore.
The event in governor House Lahore today was also witnessed by ministers, senior government officials, representatives of NGOs and the poor families.
He said he was pleased to learn that the BISP program had been extended to Gilgit-Baltistan also where more than 50,000 deserving families are being facilitated under the program.
He said that it was an unprecedented program that gave the poor people a lifetime chance to come out of the poverty traps.
The BISP has been designed to be a comprehensive social protection scheme, and a platform for women empowerment, health and accident insurance, vocational training and interest free financing for self employment for the poor, he said.
The Benazir Support Programme will be the vehicle for banishing poverty and emancipation of the poor and the downtrodden, the President said.
The President also directed the government to complete the nationwide survey of the poorest of the poor in a transparent manner. He said that 34 billion rupees were allocated for the BISP in the budget for 2008-09 which has been enhanced to Rs. 70 billion for the year 2009-10 to give cash assistance to 5 million families.
The coverage of the Program will be increased to 7 million families over the medium term by the year 2010-11.
President Zardari said that the program was aimed at empowering women as benefits under it are available only to the female head of the family.INP
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