Pakistan Baitul Maal given Rs100m by Zardari

[ajpirzada]

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday provided Rs100 million to Pakistan Baitul Maal (PBM) for marriages of 2,500 poor girls across the country.

The president handed over cheques for Rs40,000 each for marriages of 2,500 poor girls at a function at the Presidency.

Speaking on the occasion, the president said that disbursement of funds in all organisations, particularly by the PBM, must be made transparent so that people could know where the money was being spent.

“The government and national exchequer are a trust of the people and we must ensure that there is no dishonesty as there can be no pardon even for a minor lapse and those who do so will be held accountable,” the president said.

It was emphasised at the function that details of the disabled, with their particular disabilities, addresses and other relevant information should be placed on the website so that they could be contacted by government’s welfare agencies

The PBM was tasked with introducing a smart card on the pattern of Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) card for the disabled.

Mr Zardari said that Pakistanis were a philanthropic nation ranking high in the list of countries that donate for noble causes. He, however, regretted that some sections were misusing the sacred name of Islam and turning young minds to violence.

“Civil society and non-governmental organisations should come forward and play their important role to supplement the government’s efforts. It is the duty of every one of us to assist those in need,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Federal Minister Samina Khalid Ghurki highlighted salient features of the marriage scheme and said it would contribute towards sharing the burden of the marriage of 2,500 girls.

She said the girls had been selected through a transparent procedure and noted that exorbitant expenses in marriages were now a big problem for the low-income group.

The PBM Managing Director, Mr Zamurrud Khan, said that the dream of Ms Benazir Bhutto had been fulfilled by providing assistance to needy girls.

Highlighting services of PBM, he said his department was providing ample assistance, including wheelchairs to deserving disabled people and has initiated a ‘langar’ (free food) at government hospitals in 26 cities, which would be expanded throughout the country within six months.

It is also providing funding for treatment of heart, cancer, hepatitis C and other seriously ill patients throughout the country, besides artificial limbs and hearing aid devices, he said.

DAWN.COM | Front Page | Pakistan Baitul Maal given Rs100m by Zardari

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Thank you .....

 

[Spring Onion]

This money is given from national exchequre or from Zardari's own pocket??

If not from his pocket then its the money of the Pakistani public and given for spending on the public. Nice move

 

[Hyde]

This money is given from national exchequre or from Zardari's own pocket??

If not from his pocket then its the money of the Pakistani public and given for spending on the public. Nice move

but its still better than putting this money into his own pocket. Better he spend for this noble cause and its a very good move i am happy to see that as long as Corruption is not involved in this baitul maal also.

We have so many charitable organisations working for the same noble cause and considering the poor peoples in Pakistan, more needs to be done and very glad to see some positive steps by Mr Zardari

 

[forcetrip]

From his own pocket from what I can read. But like Zaki send better than his pocket.

 

[Al-zakir]

This money is given from national exchequre or from Zardari's own pocket??

If not from his pocket then its the money of the Pakistani public and given for spending on the public. Nice move

For moment, I thought he donated some his wealth nevertheless it is for good cause though the title is misleading. It isn't zardari's own money rather this money belongs to the pople thus going back to people for noble cause.

The title should be: Pakistan Baitul Maal received Rs100m from government.

 

[Al-zakir]

From his own pocket from what I can read. But like Zaki send better than his pocket.

I do not think money belong to him.

“The government and national exchequer are a trust of the people and we must ensure that there is no dishonesty as there can be no pardon even for a minor lapse and those who do so will be held accountable,” the president said.

 

[forcetrip]

Then the topic should not say given by Zardari. And second when he was talking about the government and national exchequer I thought he was making a different point.

 

[SSGPA1]

I was alos confused by the title ... started to calculate how much is still there to recover

 

[ajpirzada]

Mr Zardari said that Pakistanis were a philanthropic nation ranking high in the list of countries that donate for noble causes.

from this it appears that he gave it from his own pocket.

 

[qsaark]

First organ donation and now this; looks like he has learnt quite a lot from Musharraf on how to make the people fool.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

He can smile for you too let him govern his term ppl

 

[abbasniazi]

Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal is one of the most honest, transparent, fully computerized and professional organization in pakistan.

here are some salient features which speak of its performance and systems developed by this organization:

Vigilance/Record Maintenance/Recognition;
The whole system of PBM is fully computerized, starting from Biometric Attendence based upon full five fingers realtime scan and matching of finger prints everytime an employee checks in or out, so u can't put in fake attendence, this is backed up by two seperate manual attendence registers at office and branch levels the employees are bound to put their signatures on both registers by 8:30 AM and all three attendence sheets and soft data is faxed/emailed to PBM headoffice islamabad at 9 AM daily.

A seperate module for every project and branch is developed which is integrated in the central database maintained at islamabad Headoffice and reguler backup is kept of all the record on monthly basis. anyone having access to the module can check this information from anywhere in the world, this is being furthered to provide a universal username and password for the beneficiaries to check the status of their case from anywhere in the world without the need of coming to the office.

PBM holds second largest database in pakistan after NADRA, it has complete record of over 2 Million households registered by this organization.a presentation given about the organization in washington DC was highly appreciated by the USA and World Bank.

PBM was constituted under bait-ul-mal act in the mid 90s and in its short period of existance it has matured into a vibrant social sector organization.

PBM official system has been commended by the parliament of pakistan and establishment was advised to take PBM systems as an example for development of the system in other Govt. Organizations.


Accountability and punishment:-
Accountability and punishment are the key features of this organization when it comes to the control of funds or disposal of official duties, branches/projects depute their staff for intra-branch/project audit of every case, which is verified by Internal audit Teams from PBM HeadOffice, Islamabad, this is re-verified by Auditor General of Pakistan's Audit and on top of that a chartered accountant firm also carries out the audit of the organization, around 500 employees have been terminated so far out of approximately 1500 total strength of the organization, not on the charges of corruption but low level of performance as compared to the desired level by the Top management of PBM.

some of the services being provided by PBM are as follows;

IFA(Individuals Financial Assistance) Branch;

IFA Medical:-in this category financial assistance is provided to deserving beneficiaries for all types of ailments and surgeries through Govt. Hospitals and PBM bares all the expenses upto a limit of Rs.300,000 which could be extended to 600,000 per person.

IFA Educational Scholorships:-in this category financial assistance is provided to deserving students studying in Govt. Institutions from 1st Year of College upto the level of Phd.PBM bares all the expenses upto a limit of Rs.60,000(upto Masters Level including Engineering and Medicine) and Rs.100,000 for M.Phill and Phd students(a maximum of 2 students from one family could be entertained).

IFA Rehabilitation:-in this category, passed out students of vocational training centres are provided a micro aid to enable them to stand on their feet after completing their certificates from TEVTA, PVTC and Social Welfare Department Institutes, this enables these young people to have their first go in their practical life. over 18,000 skilled men and women were awarded this aid in 2007-08.

IFA General Financial Asistance:-in this category, a widow,girl awaiting dowry, orphan, destitute, needy, senior citizen or a disabled is provided a small amout i.e upto 30,000 for temporary relief in their day to day life.

IFA Special Persons Cell:- a special emphasis has been given to special persons in the society and PBM provides them with financial assistance worth Rs.10,000(in case of one disabled person in a family) and Rs.25,000 (in case there are two or more disabled persons in a family, such a family is permanently enrolled as PBM's SPECIAL FRIEND'S FAMILY and provided this amount every year alongwith other facilities which they may requires within the rules/policies of PBM), special person are provided wheel chairs, tricycles and white canes(free of cost).

IFA Langar Project:-it was observed by the PBM that the attendents of the patients in the hospitals face extreme difficulties for food so PBM started LANGAR PROGRAMME in which the attendents of the patients in different hospitals are provided one time meal by PBM, so far 24 hospitals are being facilitated, however, this project is intended to be extended to all Govt. Hospitals in the near future.

FSP(Food Support Programme) Branch:-
in this category, PBM provided Rs.3,000 to over 2 Million families every year to support them in one food item in their daily life.

CSW(Civil Society Wing) Branch:-
This Barch deals with the financial support of the NGOs, it provides financial help for the setting up of social welfare project in a joint venture with the NGOs (75% funding by PBM in the project in urban areas and 100% in the rural areas, this ratio has now been revised to 50/50).

Projects Branch:-
this branch deals with the provision of education and vocational skills to the marginalized segment of the society, some of its projects are;

(i)NCRCLs&Os(National Centres for Rehabilitation of Chil Labour and Orphans):-
these schools provide primary level education to kids involved in child labour/orphans, in this project, children are provided beaconhouse standard uniforms, shoes, haircuts, meals and Rs.10 per attendance day, in addition to the above the parents are provided Rs.300 per child every month.

(ii)VDS(Vocational Dastakari Schools):-
Girls are taught various basic vocational skills in these schools, all raw materials for training are provided by PBM and one sewing machine per student is provided by PBM after the completion of the training.

(iii)WDECs(Women Development and Empowerment Centres):-
Girls are taught various Advanced vocational skills in these schools.

CSP(Child Support Programme)Branch:-This is a mega Project recently launched as joint venture with World Bank.

Pakistan Sweet Homes(Orphans):-
PBM has recently started these in all the provinces as pilot projects and the idea is to enroll 100 orphans in each centre and provide them with a very good standard of living, food, education and health facilities.

Pakistan Sweet Homes(Senior Citizens):-
PBM has completed the study and feasibilty to setup pilot projects in all the provinces and the idea is to enroll 100 Senior Citizens in each centre and provide them with a very good standard of living, food, entertainment and health facilities.

 

[Frankenstein]

Is he giving from his pocket,

 

[FireFighter]

Good move.

But i bet each cheque would have a picture of Beynazir Bhutto and a flag of PPP.