The board of Benazir Income Support Programme failed to hold even a single meeting in 2014 and some important matters, including approval of budget and expenditure, still remain pending. A senior official of the BISP told Business Recorder on Monday that the last meeting of the board was held in December last year in which some important decisions were made.
"In the last board meeting, it was decided to renew contracts with commercial banks and improve working of Waseela-e-Rozgar and Waseela-e-Sehat programmes," he said.
The official said that all important decisions about the programme are made during the board meeting and nothing can be done without approval of the board.
"It is mandatory to get approval of the board for the budget and expenditure but this has not been done in the entire year," he said.
According to the BISP Act 2010, the board should consist of not less than nine and not more than eleven members, including chairperson of the programme.
Under the act, the board is required to meet after every quarter and give approval to important policies, expenditure and budget for the next quarter.
"The board shall meet at least four times in a year and a special meeting of the board may be convened by the chairperson or on the request of five members at any time by giving a reasonable notice of such meeting," the act says.
The board is empowered to approve budget of the programme prepared by the management and take decisions on the financial aspects of the programme submitted by the management for board's consideration, the act says.
The official said that functions of the programme cannot run smoothly without seeking directions and guidelines of the board members.
"We have to be careful while discharging our duties because we fear the board may object to any of the functions of the programme or a certain policy," he said.
Meanwhile, a quarterly review released by International Monetary Fund (IMF) this month has expressed satisfaction over the performance of programme.
In 2014-15, the quarterly stipends paid through the BISP increased by 25 percent to Rs 4,500 to address poverty and inequality concerns and protect the most vulnerable from the impact of energy price adjustments and fiscal consolidation, the IMF fourth and fifth staff review maintained.
"Going forward, coverage of the BISP is expected to reach around 4.8 million beneficiaries by end-2014 and 5.3 million by end-June 2015," the IMF review said.
Shabbir Ahmad, BISP secretary, told Business Recorder that a board meeting would be arranged in the last week of January 2015 to get approval of the budget and expenditure.
"We have prepared all financial accounts of last year for approval of the board," he said, adding that directions would also be sought from the board in its first meeting for a future course of action for the programme. He, however, claimed that all functions of the programme are being carried out smoothly even without any meeting of the board in 2014.
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