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Rs 15 bn programme against poverty to be fully monitored: Omar

NISAR AHMAD SHAIKH

ISLAMABAD: The minister for local government, Omar Asghar Khan, on Saturday assured the participants of the Akhtar Hameed Khan symposium that the Rs 15 billion poverty alleviation programme would be fully monitored and it would be ensured that this huge amount "is spent for the development and progress" of the community, leading to alleviate poverty.

He was summing up the points raised at the morning session of the Akhtar Hameed Khan symposium titled "Life and Times of Akhtar Hameed Khan", with special reference to his lifetime achievement of Orangi Pilot Project, Karachi.

Omar said that the first tranche of Rs 300 million had been released to assess and monitor its proper utilisation at the grass-roots level. A strict vigilance would be ensured and any weaknesses and shortcomings, as and when recorded, would be noted down and the release of further funds would be done in line with result of this monitoring and assessment.

He said: "This government is committed to bring about a change in the system of governance, beginning from the grass-roots level. This is a tediuous and complex task but this would be achieved and implemented with the cooperation of the people at large." He said the need was to change the thinking pattern of the people. They would have to look upwards themselves and not to the government for alleviation of their problems. On the principle of self-help and in cooperation with the NGOs they would have to devise ways and means to solve their problems and thus march on the road of development.

He said the need of the hour was to make Pakistan strong, and Pakistan would become strong then the people all over the country would consider Pakistan their homeland and formulate plans and policies for their own uplift, leading to the overall development of the nation and the state.

The minister stressed that the thinking at all levels had to be changed, whether at the grass-roots level, the organisation level or the bureaucratic level. he said national cohesion was needed to bring about a change. "It is an arduous task and cannot be implemented or achieved in a day. it would need continuous efforts for a long time," he added.

Earlier, NGO representatives from Karachi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, and Mingora (Swat) spoke about their experiences in the implementation of development projects in their areas on self-help basis. They said that they derived inspiration from the teachings of Akhtar Hameed Khan and, following in his footsteps, they had been able to implement small projects at local level in a successful manner. The successful implementation of the projects at the lower level has encouraged people to form committees of their own for the improvement of their localities, income generating projects health and education projects etc.

Shoaib Sultan Khan, from Karachi, said that the technique of self-help, as propounded by Akthar Hameed Khan, inspired them to launch development projects in different Katchi Abadis of Karachi. He said these development projects were launched by the people themselves who arranged the funds. labour and material without requesting for any help from the government or donor agencies.

He said they worked on the principle that the government should perform its own role while the people on their own made efforts on self-help basis to develop their areas and solve the day-to-day problems. He said that they were convinced that social development could not be done by the government alone and the people have to come forward to solve their difficulties. He said his experience proved that the poor wish to solve their problems themselves but they only need guidance and technical assistance. he said the "formal sector" should sit with the "informal sector" to devise ways and means for achieving rapid but solid development.

Nazir Wattoo, form Faisalabad, was strongly against the handling of the poverty alleviation programme by bureaucracy and said if this was done this "Gharibi Mukao Programme" would turn into "Bureaucracy Bachao Programme". He said it was a curse that the politicians and the governments in the past had been making all sorts of promises to the people by describing them as "poor". "The word "poor" has become a curse and it must be eradicated. The people are not "poor" in the sense described by the politicians and the pervious governments. They were indulging in this practice to keep the downtrodden enslaved."

He said that for Akhtar Hameed Khan the real problem of the country was not economic but moral, and the word "poor" was used for the economic uplift and development of the rich and the affluent.

He strongly advocated that the programmes of development should be entrusted to the local people who, in collaboration with the NGOs, could implement them at one-third of the cost estimated by the bureaucratic machinery.

At this juncture, Omar Asghar commented: The people will have to rise against corruption. They must point out the corrupt in the official machinery and even resort to their social boycott.

Hemeedullah, of Rawalpindi, said that at the time of elections people demand of the candidates the implementation of local development projects like soling of the streets and laying of the sewerage lines. He said his NGO, after a survey, found that if this situation continued the soling and sewerage line work in Rawalpindi would take 100 years. With the cooperation of the people his NGO has been able to carry out the soling and sewerage work in different wards of the city at a rapid pace with much less cost.

Qurban Raza from Gujranwala, said the NGOs would have to adopt the principle of honesty strictly so that the people would have trust in them and cooperate with them in the implementation of development projects.

Shaukat Sharrar, of Mingora, said urab-rural concept was no longer practicable. "Both the urban and the rural areas are in need of development and the net result of the thinking of his NGO is that the people, the NGO and the government must tackle the development issues at the lower level in cooperation with each other."

The speakers were of the opinion that Pakistan was fortunate that it had been bestowed by persons of vision, dedication and spirit of service and Akhtar Hameed was such a visionary.

Akbar Zaidi, an economist, talked about the role of the NGOs and advised them to adopt simple and not ostentatious behaviour. "It is observed that the NGO chief has a luxuriously appointed office and spending a lot on his own well-being. This creates doubts about the NGOs." The NGOs, he said, must not run after money but advise the people to generate funds of their own for the implementation of the development projects. He said the Orangi Pilot Project (OPP) is not a construction agency. It only provided technical assistance to the people who generated funds and implemented the project themselves. He said: "It is unfortunate that many an NGO is not following in the footsteps of OPP and hence they have failed to repeat the success story of the OPP. It is a matter of pride that OPP never requested for funds from any quarter but advised the people to generate their own resources."

The venue of the symposium was adorned with banners with advice by Akhtar Hameed Khan, like "Pakistan's problem is not economic but moral". "To bring about a psychological change, you have to make people responsible for solving their own problems."