Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (Smeda) Monday launched United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) funded " Pro-Poor Governance for Legal Empowerment of the Poor (Pro-Gole) project for small and marginalised businesses.
The project will be carried out on the basis of the public-private partnership. The project would be executed in 13 districts, including 10 worst flood-affected districts of the province, including Peshawar, Abbottabad, Mardan, Charssada, D I Khan, Swat, Chitral, Shangla, Upper and Lower Dir, Kohistan, Nowshera, and Tank, said Shaheen Tahir, National Project Manager, while giving a detail presentation about the programme. Under the project, he informed there would be established four legal aid centres for small marginalised businesses, 10 trade associations, 10 corporate business associations, and a pilot registration of Chitral Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He further added that project has four major components like access to justice, property right, right to do business, labour right and right to do business, saying that Smeda is going to implement right to do business component through the project.
In this connection, a formal project launching ceremony held here at Women Business Development Centre on Monday. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Social Welfare and Women Development, Sitara Ayaz was the chief guest on the occasion. The Smeda Business and sector development services Division and National Project Director, Sultan Mehmood Tiwana, National Project Manager, Shaheen Tahir, provincial Co-ordinator UNDP project, Noor Zeba, Smeda Provincial Chief, Javed Iqbal Khattak, Shafarat Ali Mubarak, president Markazi Anjuman Tajraan Peshawar and WBDC project Manager, Nabeela Farman.
Members of business community, legal experts, presidents of different traders associations, representatives of women business advocacy and legal service organisations and government affiliated bodies also attended the event.
Shaheen Tahir explained the different aspects of the project, and said that the project aims to enable marginalised businesses to enforce their business right, apart from strengthening the governing institutions for improved and pro-marginalised business service delivery. He further informed that legal services' outreach would be extended to women and other marginalised stakeholders along with hawking/street vendors, small family owned businesses and kiosk owners under the programme.
Sultan Mehmood Tiwana, while in his keynote speech said that the project would also assist to access legal and other business development services. He explained that Smeda had been selected for implementation of the regional pilot project among more than 22 countries of the world after endorsement of its proposal by UNDP. He said the program would also support to generation economic opportunities and economic protection in the province.
He informed that all government departments, like labour, PDA, legal service providers, Court Bar Associations, Chamber and Trade Associations, NGOs and social enterprises and academia would be taken on board for effectiveness and viability of the programme.
Smeda Provincial Chief, Javed Iqbal Khattak, explained about various projects to be implemented for economic revitalisation and development in the province. He expressed the hope that the legal empowerment project will fully facilitate business community.
The KP Minister for Social Welfare and Women Development, Sitar Ayaz while addressing at the ceremony said that the programme would helpful to legalisation of neglected segments, have key role in development of national economy.
She assured that the government has strongly supported such initiatives and would extend every possible support in terms of technical, financial, integration of programme activities through social welfare department, formulation of policy, especially provision of social protection of neglected segment in economic development.
Ms Sitara said that it was essential to bring forefront marginalised businesses being invisible economic players to meet the goal set for reduction of poverty by end of 2014. She said that the step was a proactive approach toward attaining the goal. She stressed upon all stakeholders to support programme for sustainability and yielding positive results for legal and social, and economic protection of neglected economic players.
She expressed the hope the programme would get all its objectives after its successful implementation in collaboration with key stakeholders in the public and private sectors.
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