ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin said on Monday that Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP) would bring about revolution in low income segment of society by helping the poor earn respectable livelihood and stand on their own feet.
Addressing the launching ceremony of Kamyab Pakistan Programme, the minister said that Rs1400 billion would be provided to 3.7 million households during the next 5 years adding that the target would be taken up to 6 million households in future.
He said welfare of the poor was the priority of the incumbent government and that was why the government had introduced ‘bottom up approach’ to lift them out of poverty. He said that this was the first government to introduce the ‘bottom up approach’ to overcome income disparity, adding that even this approach was being utilised by United States to bridge widening incomes gaps.
He said that promises were made during the last 72 years for uplifting the poor, however these were never fulfilled adding that the credit goes to the incumbent government to introduce this strategy to make lives of common people better and make Pakistan a welfare state.
The minister said that under Kamyab Kissan Programme, the government would provide interest-free loans of Rs150,000 to farmers for each crop and 300,000 for two crops whereas they would be given Rs200,000 loans for agriculture mechanisation.
He said that under Kamyab Karabor Programme, the government would also provide Rs500,000 interest-free loans to each household for three years for establishing business to earn respectable livelihood.
He said that the loans would be provided through various microfinance banks and Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs), which he said have experience of working at micro level, providing small loans for last 40 years and have 99 percent recovery rate.
He said provision of interest-free loans to farmers and business would be a joint venture of big commercial banks and microfinance institutions, wherein the commercial banks would provide wholesale loans to microfinance institution, which would disburse on retail basis to the people. This was a unique formula, he maintained.
He said, unlike in past when the people had to go after banks to provide them loans, now banks would come to their doorsteps, adding that loans are being provided to the people who had no access to them or had to borrow from middleman on high rates. “We are rescuing these people”, he added.
The minister said that the government also introduced Sehat cards for Sehatmand Pakistan, which would be provided to every household. Under the Kamyab Hunarmand Programme he added, one person of each family would provided employable technical training.
The minister appreciated the efforts of all those who have worked hard in preparing the Kamyab Pakistan Programme. He said that in past, the governments would be working on trickle-down effect strategy, which had remained ineffective in providing relief to the poor, however the bottom up approach would directly help to uplift them out of poverty.
The minister underlined the need for continuation of economic policies to ensure sustainable economic growth.
