Success stories: Govt seeks further investments through $250m additional financing: WB

ISLAMABAD: Due to the success of the Crisis Resilient Social Protection (CRISP) programme and the improved delivery capabilities of the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), the government has requested further investments in and utilisation of the adaptive system through additional financing of $ 250 million, says the World Bank.

The bank released a brief on “Crisis Resilient Social Protection-Additional Financing (CRISP) addendum to Environmental and Social Systems Assessment” which noted that additional financing is the appropriate instrument given that the government has proposed important system improvements which continue the reforms contemplated under the original CRISP project.

The boundaries of the broader government’s programme and the programme supported through CRISP will be retained with no additional funding to the Investment Project Financing (IPF) component. Considering that the proposed AF would be directly tied to the existing activities with no changes in the scope and boundary of the programme, an addendum has been prepared for assessing the impacts of the new Disbursement Linked Results (DLRs).

Rural areas: One-quarter of population still below poverty line: WB

Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) proposed under the AF will cover some longer-term policy actions regarding the BISP programmes and the National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) while identifying and correcting coverage gaps.

Under Result Area 1, the proposed results support; (a) adoption of recertification protocols to ensure predictability in programme exit and entry for BISP programmes during future recertifications; (b) institutionalization of an indexation mechanism for the base cash transfer programme (Kafaalat) benefits to prevent erosion in purchasing power and to protect against the impacts of impending economic reforms; (c) inclusion of all eligible beneficiaries under the current eligibility criteria by identifying and correcting gaps in NSER that have led to any unintended exclusion through the expansion of mobile Multi-Entry Localized Access (MELA) touchpoints; (d) adoption of NSER as the agreed targeting mechanism nation-wide and development of a technology-supported mechanism to facilitate its use by other programmes; and (e) measures to correct the current overlap of federal and provincial Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programmes and to prevent future overlap, including gradual takeover by the provinces of Punjab and Sindh of the federal nutrition-focused CCT.

The parent programme is performing “Satisfactorily” on environmental and social aspects and is adequately staffed. The BISP has made commendable efforts in social mobilisation and outreach to vulnerable groups (including indigenous people), streamlining various components of the Grievance Redressal Mechanism (GRM), and developing a gender action plan.

There has also been progress on managing the environmental footprint of electronic waste (e-waste) generated by the programme, including developing standard operating procedures for the handling for the handling of waste, and initiating training programmes for staff.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024