President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday said the government was committed to women empowerment, improvement in the living standard of the people and reaching out to the poorest of the poor. He was addressing the launching ceremony of mobile phone banking for BISP beneficiaries of northern Punjab, the draw of Waseela-e-Haq and distribution of Life Insurance certificates amongst BISP beneficiaries at the Presidency. The president, by pressing a button, initiated the computer balloting for 21st and 22nd draw of Waseela-e-Haq and distributed soft term loans of Rs 150,000 amongst those selected in the previous ballots. He also handed over free mobile phone sets and life insurance certificates to BISP beneficiaries.
President’s youngest daughter Asifa Bhutto Zardari accompanied the president at the ceremony. Zardari said mobile phone banking would ensure the money was paid to the most deserving in a speedy and transparent manner and hoped that every BISP beneficiary would be receiving cash grants through mobile phones. The president said the deserving people would get their full share of assistance without any fear of leakage or misappropriation. He said the launch of mobile banking was well-timed to pay homage to Benazir Bhutto, whose birthday celebrations were about to commence and on whose vision the whole programme was based.
The president said that Benazir Bhutto lived and laid down her life for the empowerment of the poor and downtrodden people of the country, particularly the women. The president said the way the BISP had progressed and was blossoming into a comprehensive social safety net was a matter of pride. He complimented BISP for reaching out to more than four million families in less than three years.
He said the BISP was not merely for poverty alleviation. “It is designed to be much more,” he said, adding that it was a comprehensive social protection scheme and a platform for women empowerment, as it covers health and accident insurance, vocational training and interest free financing for self employment.
The president said after the introduction of Benazir Smart Card and Poverty Scorecard Survey, mobile phone banking was another step by BISP reflecting that the programme had progressed into a comprehensive social safety net. The president said life insurance under Waseela-e-Sehat and Vocational training for BISP beneficiaries under Waseela-e-Rozgar schemes were already underway.
The BISP introduced a pilot phase of Mobile Phone Banking for Cash Grants Beneficiaries launched by the president on December 26, 2010 at Larkana and Layyah, where more than 68,000 free mobile phones were distributed.
Currently, the mobile phone banking is being implemented in eight districts across the country. Group life insurance is another intervention of social protection that covers the breadwinners of each of the beneficiary’s family. Under this scheme, the dependents of the deceased would be compensated with Rs 100,000 in case of natural or accidental death of the breadwinner.
