ABBOTTABAD: The Benazir Income Support Programme has been denying certain payments to different training organisations for one and a half years ago.

The BISP contracted NGOs, vocational training centres and computer academies to offer vocational and technical training to its beneficiaries.

After the change of BISP management by the PML-N federal government, the Waseela-i-Rozgar scheme was suspended.

Similarly, payments to training organisations and trainees were also stopped.

All that led to the suspension of the scheme meant to provide free vocational training to over 150,000 BISP beneficiaries across the country.

These organisations repeatedly contacted the relevant authorities for due payments, but to no avail.

According to them, not a single penny has been given to them by the BISP since June 2013. Also, trainees, who belong to the underprivileged segments of the society, have been denied Rs6,000 monthly stipend each.

“For 18 months, the BISP high-ups have been refusing to meet us on the matter. The former BISP chairman clearly told us that he is helpless in the case for some reasons,” said the representative of a training organisation.

A trainer, Abdul Sattar, claimed international donors had given grants to the BISP for payments but no one got the money.

“I have spent Rs3 million so far but the authorities have failed to clear my dues,” said trainer Mohammad Sarfraz.

He said under the two-year contract with the BISP, all training organisations were to receive Rs3,500-Rs5,500 every month, while examination fee and tool kits were also to be provided for beneficiaries.

“It seems the new BISP management is not interested in continuing a programme begun by the PPPP government,” he said.

The BISP Waseela-i-Rozgar scheme was launched in September 2011, while the vocational training programme began in February 2012.

Under the plan, vocational training was to be provided to 70,000 BISP beneficiaries but until now, 57,817 people have undergone training.

So far, the BISP has released Rs1.8 billion for the programme, including Rs799 million for training organisations.

Published in Dawn February 12th , 2015

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