ISLAMABAD: Announcing a 40 percent targeted subsidy for the poor on purchase of essential food items, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said the measure would provide relief to the lower-income people.
Addressing the launch of the Kamyab Pakistan programme, a Rs 1,400 billion poverty alleviation initiative, the prime minister said the impecunious strata would get fixed subsidies on wheat, flour, sugar and cooking oil.
He said 75 percent of palm oil in the country was being imported and therefore the public was facing the impact of “imported inflation”.
At present, he said, the government was trying its best to reduce the burden of inflation on people.
He said compared with the global inflation of 100 percent, the prices in Pakistan witnessed a 22 percent surge only.
He said the global prices of wheat and sugar grew 37 and 40 percent compared with 12 and 21 percent in Pakistan, respectively.
Khan said the price of petrol in Pakistan was at its lowest in the world, except the oil-producing states, and neighbouring India was selling the petrol at double rate.
He said the government cut the levy and sales tax on petrol and as a result, bore a loss of Rs400 billion in order to provide relief to end consumers.
The prime minister said the Kamyab Pakistan programme was aimed at bringing improvement to the lives of the common man.
He lauded Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin for ensuring micro-finance facilities for low-income groups, saying it reflected the government’s firm intention to uplift the underprivileged.
Khan regretted that the system for the past 72 years catered to only a handful of the elite and pointed out that an “island of rich” was benefiting from the financial, education and justice systems.
He said the government was committed to following the principles of history’s first welfare state of Medinah, which ensured welfare and justice for its citizens.
Tarin said the government was intending to put in place an inclusive sustainable growth set-up to benefit all segments.
He said the unique formula of loan disbursement among 3.7 million households through microfinance banks and non-governmental organisations would facilitate the people in their small businesses.
The Kamyab Pakistan programme, he said, would be transitioned to expand while simultaneously reducing the Ehsaas project, with an objective to make them self-sufficient.
Tarin said the bottom-up approach would benefit the low-income groups in particular.
Khan’s adviser on youth affairs, Usman Dar, and Naya Pakistan Housing Authority chairman retired Lt Gen Anwar Haider Ali spoke about the salient features of the programmes with respect to their domains.
The programme has five components. The farmers will get interest-free loans under the Kamyab Kisan programme. The financing for businesses will be made up to Rs500,000 under the Kamyab Karobar programme.
The financing on easy instalments will be extended for construction of houses under the Sasta Ghar scheme, besides linking of successful skilled based scholarship schemes and Sehat Insaf Card with the Kamyab Pakistan programme.
