ISLAMBAD:
The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) has yet to approve its service structure despite being in operation for 18 years, with employees ranging from directors to drivers still serving on deputation, officials informed the National Assembly Standing Committee on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety on Thursday.
The committee directed BISP to submit a summary to the Ministry of Finance seeking approval for permanent recruitment, while also instructing the programme’s six partner banks to increase the number of payment agents to improve service delivery.
The committee, chaired by Mir Ghulam Ali Talpur, questioned why BISP, established in 2008, had failed to recruit regular employees.
“From directors to drivers, everyone is on deputation. Why have regular employees not been appointed?” Talpur asked during the meeting.
An additional secretary told the committee that all staff members were currently serving on deputation and that the matter had already been referred to the Ministry of Finance. He added that the organisation’s workload had expanded significantly and that even sanctioned posts had not been filled.
Calling the situation a “crisis”, Talpur pressed officials to resolve the issue.
BISP Secretary Amir Ali Ahmed said the organisation was prepared to forward a summary to the finance ministry’s austerity committee if directed by the parliamentary panel.
“If full approval is not granted, at least we will be able to make the organisation functional,” he said.
The committee subsequently directed BISP to submit the proposal for permanent recruitment to the finance ministry.
Ahmed informed lawmakers that BISP would transition to a fully digital payment system from July 16.
Under the new mechanism, beneficiaries will be able to receive payments through bank accounts as well as digital financial services, including Easypaisa, JazzCash and UPaisa. The move is aimed at eliminating long queues at payment centres by transferring funds directly into beneficiaries’ accounts, allowing them to withdraw money at their convenience.
Partnership
The Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), in collaboration with United Nations agencies, has extended the Benazir Nashonuma Programme for another three years to protect an additional 3.3 million children and women from malnutrition across Pakistan.
The three-year extension was jointly announced by BISP, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), reaffirming their commitment to improving maternal and child nutrition and reducing malnutrition among vulnerable communities across the country.
