Procedural discrepancies mar cash distribution programme

The federal government's initiative to provide cash assistance of Rs 12,000 each to 12 million families under Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme has been described as the largest social welfare drive in the history of Pakistan, yet it is marked with procedural discrepancies coupled with lack of a well defined mechanism regarding the implementation of this programme which has added to the confusion for those in need of financial assistance.

Since Thursday, the distribution of Rs 144 billion to provide cash assistance to the downtrodden segments of society has been launched countrywide. In the first phase of this two-week programme, 4.5 million people already registered under the Kifaalat Programme would be provided cash assistance.

In the second phase, four million persons registered through National Socioeconomic Database, would be provided cash assistance whereas in the third and last phase of the two-week drive, 3.5 million applicants are being registered through the government's designated Short Messaging Service (SMS), web portal and district administrations concerned with the assistance of the relevant union councils. The federal government on Friday also extended the registration date for Corona Relief Tiger Force volunteers for five days, till April 15.

It transpired during an anecdotal survey carried out by Business Recorder that scores of distribution centres set up in the government schools throughout the country for the payment of cash to deserving persons were not strictly adhering to precautionary measures against coronavirus.

Requesting anonymity, a deputy commissioner of a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa told Business Recorder that the district administration was concerned that the elderly persons (60-year old and above) were queuing up in huge numbers at the distribution centres to get cash assistance.

"Due to limited resources, managing big number of persons at any distribution centre becomes very difficult. Even if precautionary measures like sanitising, wearing hand gloves and facemasks are followed, there are high chances that elderly persons can end up catching coronavirus," the DC said.

The source said that the Corona Relief Tiger Force established by Prime Minister Imran Khan should have been used to visit the slums and other peripheral areas to identify and register the deserving applicants under Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme, and the same Force could be used for payment of cash to the deserving population instead of setting up distribution centres and assemble the public for the payment of cash.

A Punjab government official agreed that the steps taken by the federal government regarding the registration of 3.5 million applicants under Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme proved problematic for the deserving population. "The labourers who are totally illiterate find it hard to send SMSs to the government's designated number for registration. Plus, this service was not free.

The government announced to abolish charges on the SMS facility (from April 10 and onwards) but only after more than 40 million applicants were already charged and there is no move to refund the deducted amount. And, unlike us, the labour class has no access to things like social media and web portals.

The manual process of registration should have been primarily focused to ensure that deserving applicants in maximum numbers are registered under Ehsaas Emergency Cash Programme instead of taking the cosmetic measures," the official said.