Prime Minister Imran Launches ‘Landmark’ KPP
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday launched the Kamyab Pakistan Programme (KPP) to disburse interest-free to highly concessional loans amounting to Rs228 billion among 738,000 borrowers in the remainder period of his government.
The programme – a brainchild of Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin – promises to uplift people from poverty and low income cycles by providing them interest-free loans of up to Rs500,000 for doing business and procuring inputs and machines.
The government has given an eight-year roadmap, though its constitutional term will end after two years in August 2023. In two years, the government has planned to disburse 738,180 loans worth Rs228 billion. The Rs37 billion subsidies will be given from the budget to pick up for the 15% interest cost.
“The Kamyab Pakistan Programme was a landmark and splendid idea,” said the prime minister, saying Pakistan’s whole system only caters to the needs of the elite, and banks even after the foreclosure law became operational did not have the capacity to give small loans.
“We realized that by the time banks learn to give loans to poorer people, our five years will be over,” said the prime minister, adding that this was the reason the government had decided to make microfinance banks part of the programme.
“The prime minister has laid the foundation of a welfare state and if the programme is implemented successfully, there will be revolution at the downtrodden level,” said the finance minister.
However, it will take one-and-half months to two months before the first borrower gets the loan, as the Ministry of Finance has not yet hired partner commercial banks that would disburse the loans through microfinance institutions.
“A request for proposal will be floated in the media this week for hiring the banks that will have at least two weeks’ time to submit the bids,” said a senior official of the Finance Ministry. The government will pay around 17% interest to the banks that will disburse free-of-cost loans among the youth and farmers.
The cost of housing loans is estimated at 15% out of which 2% will be borne by the borrower and the remaining 13% will be picked by the government, according to a decision by the cabinet.