KARACHI, Dec 27: Despite numerous hurdles in its way in all four provinces, officials of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) say that they have delivered ‘green rickshaws and some other equipment worth more than Rs2 billion to 20,309 unemployed people in the last ten months’ under the most expensive and glamorous employment generation scheme of the country.
Formally called the President’s Rozgar Scheme, the NBP proposed that it would disburse about Rs85 billion in the next five years to some half a million unemployed persons.
The bank has now finalised two new products for inclusion from early 2008 in the scheme. Besides loans for transport, the NBP is now preparing to help uneducated medical graduates by offering primary health care kits and four wheelers to be used as taxis and good carriers.
“Out of more than 20,000 accounts of the unemployed in the last ten months, only 203 accounts involving Rs18.28 million have been found to be irregular,” confided a senior official.
Of these irregular accounts, 107 are in Sialkot with a stake of Rs7.81 million and 83 in Central Lahore with Rs8.97 million.
Five products of the scheme were announced in 2006: the NBP Karobar Utility Store under franchise with the Utility Stores Corporation (USC), NBP Karobar Mobile General Store without franchise, NBP Karobar Transport, NBP Karobar Public Call Office (PCO) and NBP Karobar Tele-Centre.
The NBP is now enlarging its scheme by launching new products.
After a soft launch in October 2006 and full launch on March 31, 2007 through 1,000 designated branches of the bank, the transport scheme was most popular with the people and an overwhelming majority of the 20,309 unemployed applicants had utilised the gas-run green rickshaws in the last ten months.
The NBP officials claimed that there was no chance of any political intervention in the scheme since the entire process had been computerised. “The computer does not recognise anyone from political affiliation,” the official said.
“The USC is demanding a financial guarantee of Rs200,000-Rs300,000 for giving a franchise to an unemployed who is himself seeking a loan and, therefore, the scheme cannot move ahead’’ an official said, adding that efforts were under way to find a solution.
But the real challenge was coming from the bureaucracy at all levels in the four provinces which was thwarting the transport scheme. The governments of Punjab and NWFP were not giving a formal policy approval for the registration of rickshaws delivered under the scheme in their main cities. The registration of vehicles was being made on intervention of the government at high levels or from influential persons.
Approvals were being sought for the transport scheme in Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, Peshawar, Mardan, Mingora, Abbotabad, Kohat, Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan.
The Sindh government had issued a notification regarding the NBP schemes only after the prime minister himself intervened last April. The Quetta nazim had reportedly stopped registration of rickshaws given under the scheme since Nov 7.
Earlier at the time of the scheme’s launch, the District Regional Transport Authority of Quetta used to demand Rs15,000 as registration fee for rickshaws obtained through the bank.
“Had the schemes been allowed to operate smoothly and unobstructed the NBP might have delivered machines and equipment worth more than Rs10 billion to a quarter million of unemployed people in the country’’ a senior official claimed.
In the face of all such hurdles, the NBP received loan applications from 65,259 unemployed persons seeking assistance worth Rs5.78 billion. After an electronic scrutiny, 49,951 applications were found in order and assistance worth Rs4.80 billion was sanctioned. Of this, 20,309 persons were delivered rickshaws and other goods worth Rs2 billion by Dec 15.
“On average we are delivering rickshaws and equipment worth Rs300 million everyday to loan applicants,” the official said.
Under the proposed new products for unemployed medical graduates, students with graduate degrees recognised by the Higher Education Commission will be given ECG machines, urine analyser, pulse oximeter, glucose and cholesterol tester, computer and printer, ultrasound machine and some other equipment.
The NBP is in negotiations with automobile companies for delivering four wheelers to the unemployed to be used as taxis and good carriers.
“We may also offer imported vehicles,” the official hinted and pointed out that a tracking device would be installed to ensure that the vehicles given under the scheme operated within jurisdiction.
The NBP officials maintained that the scheme had a positive impact in terms of direct employment and expansion of the vendor industry.
