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EAB group plan to fight poverty thru job creation

TAHIR DHINDSA

ISLAMABAD: Reducing poverty through employment generation will be the focus of the new development strategy the government is being geared up to adopt soon. The sub-group on development in the Economic Advisory Board, headed by Dr A R Kamal, has already presented comprehensive package to the finance ministry. The programme has been named as the 'special development programme'.

Official sources told Business Recorder on Saturday that the programme the major portion of which will be chalked out of the current public sector development programme (PSDP), is fully backed by World Bank and Asian Development Bank as some major ongoing development schemes, being run on their financing, will be diverted or fine-tuned.

This income generation programnme, along with some infrastructure development programme, also includes many town-based, small community development schemes such as garbage disposal schemes and water supply schemes.

Sources said that the government does not have any extra funds to implement any new development programme. Therefore, a major portion of some of the running schemes would be diverted to the plan. Social action programme (SAP) is one of them.

At the same time, the government wants to protect the ultra-poor during the transition, for which a safety net is being prepared, sources said. A separate group headed by Dr Attiya Inayatullah, Member National Security Council, is preparing inputs on that.

According to the development package prepared by the sub-group on development, prime focus will be on rural areas where bulk of the population lives. As promised in Chief Executive's December 15 address to the nation, focus is on agriculture related development.

Farm to market roads, canal lining and small-town-based infrastructure development are the three main components. According to the experts, these schemes, which will replace mega projects like motorways and airport terminal and Tameer-e-Watan programme through reallocation in PSDP, will generate employment and reduce poverty.

As community based programmes are close to the already running social action programme (SAP), funds from the schemes might be reallocated after the package is finalised.

World Bank sources told Business Recorder that the Bank is fully backing the government on its initiative as the schemers are not new but the same approach is being carried forward through a different route. They said the prime focus was development and reduction in poverty, targeting it through a different approach was, therefore, acceptable.

For the vulnerable and ultra-poor, the sub-group headed by Dr Atttiya Inayatullah is working on a plan which primarily will be funded from Zakat fund. Through this net, food coupons will be provided to the poor. For that matter, Zakat allowance has already been enhanced from Rs 300 per month to Rs 500 per month.

To specifically target poverty, experts are working on developing a suitable 'definition' of poverty. Two basic definitions are already their ie 'Dollar-a-day' definition and the 'Caloric need' definition.