ECC approves Kamyab Pakistan Programme; 40% payment of IPPs dues

ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet formally approved the Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP), which has five components to develop the low-income and unemployed segments of the society.

Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin presided over the meeting on Thursday.

The Finance Division presented an updated summary regarding Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP) before the committee.

The programme has been streamlined in consultation with the stakeholders to disburse microcredit for uplifting marginalised segments of the society. KPP has five components, Kamyab Karobar; Kamyab Kissan; Naya Pakistan low-cost Housing; Kamyab Hunarmand; and Sehatmand Pakistan.

Under the first three components, micro-loans would be disbursed among the eligible persons registered with the Ehsaas data through the National Socioeconomic Registry (NSER) who have family income of up to Rs50,000/month.

The last two components of KPP will be integrated with the existing programmes. KPP is aimed at integrating with the government’s ongoing skill development programme for imparting educational and vocational training.

As per the revised framework of KPP, the selection of wholesale lenders (banks) will be through competitive bidding in line with the PPRA rules.

The microfinance providers (MFPs) will be selected by the wholesale lenders. The government will provide two guarantees, 10 per cent first loss guarantee to MFPs and 50 per cent guarantee to the wholesale lenders (banks) on pari-passu/risk-sharing basis.

During the first phase, KPP will be launched in Balochistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and a few of the poorest districts of Sindh and Punjab.

KPP will be extended to the whole Pakistan eventually. On the implementation side, the Kamyab Pakistan Information System (KPIS), a digital portal, is being established, which is fully integrated with the telecommunication companies, NTC, Ehsaas/NSER and Nadra for verification of beneficiary’s eligibility.

After due deliberation, the ECC approved the Kamyab Pakistan Programme for onward submission before the Cabinet.

The members of the committee commended the salient features of the Kamyab Pakistan Programme and regarded it a flagship initiative of the present government to empower the under-privileged population having limited resources.

The ECC considered and approved another summary by the Finance Division regarding fixation of dividend at the rate of 10 per cent on the face value of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) shares for the financial year ended June 30, 2021.

The Ministry of Industries and Production presented a summary regarding approval for disbursement of salaries to the Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) employees for FY 2021/22. After due deliberation, the ECC accorded approval for the payment of salaries to the employees on a monthly basis till implementation of the complete human resource retrenchment plan.

The Ministry of Industries and Production secretary briefed the committee about the availability of sufficient sugar stocks.

He also apprised about the steps being taken to import sugar for building strategic reserves. After detailed discussion, the ECC approved the import of sugar in three segregated tenders of 50,000 tonnes each so that there is more participation and increased competition when international prices decline.

The committee also emphasised to ensure smooth supply of sugar across the country and directed to initiate crushing by sugar mills in the beginning of November, 2021 as was done last year.

The ECC considered and approved a technical supplementary grant in favour of the Ministry of Interior for construction of Frontier Constabulary Training Centre, Michni, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, amounting to Rs50 million during FY 2021/22.

The ECC also accorded approval for the lowest bid received for the award of fourth international wheat tender for FY 2021/22 to import 120,000 tonnes of the commodity, as tabled by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

The finance minister said mutual consultation will pave the way for collective decision making under the umbrella of the Cabinet committees. This facilitates the process of decision making in the public sector.

The ECC also considered and approved another summary presented by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research for the purchase of 40,000 tonnes of wheat from Passco by the World Food Programme.

The Ministry of Energy presented a summary regarding financial support to generation companies. After detailed deliberations, the committee approved Rs500 million as a technical supplementary grant of the total budget allocated to the Power Division.

Lastly, the ECC considered and approved another summary presented by the Power Division regarding 40 per cent payment of the total amount payable to the independent power producers (IPPs) of 2002 policy.

Among others, Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar, Federal Minister of National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam, Federal Minister for Railways Azam Khan Swati, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Farrukh Habib, federal secretaries, State Bank of Pakistan Governor Reza Baqir and other senior officials participated in the meeting.