Smeda launches UNDP funded LEP project
The project will be carried out on the basis of the public-private partnership. The program was launched in a ceremony held here in Women Business Development Centre (WBDC) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Social Welfare and Women Development, Sitara Ayaz as chief guest. Those present on the occasion included Sultan Mehmood Tiwana, Head, Business & Sector Development Services Division (Smeda), Provincial Chief Smeda, Javed Iqbal Khattak and a large number of women and men entrepreneurs of the province. Members of business community, legal experts, presidents of different traders' associations, representatives of women business advocacy and legal service organizations and government affiliated bodies. The Legal Empowerment Program (LEP) is an UNDP funded initiative and is structured around four pillars namely access to justice, property rights, labour rights and right to do business. The Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (Smeda) is the implementing partner for the Right to do business pillar of the program. Under the Right to do Business pillar, legal services will be extended to women and marginalized stakeholders such as street vendors, small family owned business or small kiosk owners. Marginalized businesses will be mobilized to access legal and other business development services. The program in Pakistan will be based on a multi-pronged and mutually, reinforcing strategy. The targeted disadvantaged groups will be provided legal awareness about their basic rights, importance of a legal identity, accessing justice and redressal mechanism. Build mechanism for support to disadvantaged groups, carry out research and impact assessment studies of legal mechanism at the grassroots levels and advocacy & co-ordination for stakeholder engagement at the policy levels. "The program will be executed in more than 13 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," told Shaheen Tahir, National Project Manager of LEP in his detailed representation. Under the project, he informed, four legal aid centres, 10 trade associations, corporative business would be established. A pilot project will also be established for Chitral Chamber of Commerce & Industry, he added.
He further added that project has four major components like access to justice, property right, right to do business, and labour right, saying that Smeda is going to implement third aspect Right to do business through the project.
Speaking on the occasion, Head of Business and Sector Development Division, Smeda Sultan Mehmood Tiwana said that the project will also assist to access legal and other business development services. He said 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 will also support to generate economic opportunities and protection in the province.
Smeda Provincial Chief, Javed Iqbal Khattak informed about various projects being implemented for economic revitalization and development in the province. He expressed the hope that the project will fully facilitate business community.
The KP Minister for Social Welfare & Women Development, Sitara Ayaz said that the program would be helpful to recognize the trade and businesses of the neglected segments of society, which play key role in the development of national economy.
She said that provincial government has strongly supported such initiatives and would extend every possible support in terms of technical, financial, integration of program activities through social welfare department, formulation of policy and especially the provision of social protection to the neglected segments of the society.
Copyright APP (Associated Press of Pakistan), 2011