PM urges PAF to transform through policy change

Kathmandu, Sept 30: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has directed the Poverty Alleviation Fund (PAF) to transform itself from its past modality of grants into a ‘think tank’ for the Ministry and entities working in the poverty alleviation.

He gave this directive in a meeting of the PAF held this morning at the Prime Minister’s Official Residence at Baluwatar.

Urging for making an assessment of whether the available money was being utilized or unutilized, PM Oli stressed that the PAF should work towards eliminating poverty in a meaningful way through policy level change and not only by issuing grants.

PAF’s vice-chairman Nirmal Bhattarai said that the Fund’s today’s meeting has decided to approve a budget of Rs 50 million to develop the PAF into a think tank and to restructure the Rs 19 billion budget operated through the World Bank’s assistance and run the programmes through the local level.