Daily Times

London: Benazir Income Support Programme chairperson Marvi Memon has been awarded the Speaker’s Democracy Award in recognition of her struggle for democracy and contributions towards social change in Pakistan’s emerging democracy.

The award was conferred upon her at a ceremony hosted by the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow. Memon was the guest of honour at the ceremony held at the State Room of Speakers House, London. Speaking at the occasion, Bercow likened the scheme to the British welfare system.

Memon has been leading the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) under the current Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government.

The BISP had been launched in 2008 by then government of the Pakistan People’s Party. The supporters of the programme have hailed it as the largest ever effort in the country for poverty reduction.

A study into the scheme commissioned by the U.K, Department of International Development (DFID), had suggested that there was room for improvement in the method used by impoverished families to collect money.

U.K aid accounts for seven percent of the scheme funds, although this is a reduction from previous years when it was 20 percent. In a statement, a DFID spokesperson said, “Cash transfers get aid directly to the poorest who need it most and helps cut out the middle man. “60 million people have less than £1 a day to live on in Pakistan – this money allows families to buy the basics they need such as food, medicine and clothing.”

The U.K has pledged to donate £420.3million to the BISP between 2012 and 2020.

Published in Daily Times, September 7^th 2017.