EDITORIAL: Revitalising Micro-finance
By the Editor

OF-LATE, the concept of micro-financing has gained currency in the country providing a base for its expansion in the years ahead.

The performance record of the sector reveals that the number of beneficiaries of the micro-financing facility has more than doubled in two years (2002-2004) from 57,000 to 178,000.

It’s good that micro-financing sector is gaining popularity with small businessmen and has benefited such a large number of people as a measure to alleviate poverty from the country.

It’s, however, not enough to ameliorate the lot of the common man, because the task of dealing with poverty, want, hunger, disease etc, is gigantic especially because Pakistan is a developing country with meagre fiscal resources.

True that the national economy has improved somewhat over the past few years, but the basic trends of economy continue to be precarious due to dwindling state of the poor and middle classes of society.

Besides, whatever is being done in the economic sector is just symbolic with practically no modus operandi for trickle down effect. Much, therefore, needs to be done to obviate the situation.

Unabated poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunities are obviously having direct bearing on the life of the poor and middle classes, which are getting frustrated with the scenario of rich getting richer and poor getting poorer in the country.

It’s, therefore, pertinent that the situation should be viewed with a new approach and outlook to promote employment and improve the lot of the lower middle segment of society. In this connection it will be appropriate to promote small and cottage industries at a massive scale, because that alone will help cope with the mounting unemployment problem.

The institutions engaged in micro-financing need reorientation in this connection so that liberal funding is made available to the people to establish small and cottage industries across the country.

It’s hoped that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will personally look into the issue and will generate massive micro-financing to comprehensively deal with poverty and unemployment problems.

At the same time, it is also desirable to launch an awareness campaign to promote healthy trends of hard work in the people and to develop aversion to the wastage of time in frivolous pursuits.● 

 -  Mumtaz Hamid Rao
www.MumtazRao.net