Aid For Urban Poor Not Distributed Fairly Says A G S Report

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The urban poverty eradication programme, aimed at improving the quality of life for B40 households living in the city, had reached the targeted number of participants.PETALING JAYA: Aid under the housing and local government ministry’s urban poverty eradication programme (PPKB) was not distributed fairly and properly to the target group, says the Auditor-General’s (A-G’s) Report 2021.
However, the report said the programme, aimed at improving the quality of life for B40 households living in the city, had reached the targeted number of participants.
Bernama reported that the report also said the programme did not achieve its targeted performance, as some participants did not generate sufficient income to rise above the poverty line.
It added that some participants, who received approval to take part in the programme, did not benefit because the implementing agency failed to carry out the intended initiative.
That same agency, it said, failed to carry out repair works approved for 113 participants, while some RM1.08 million was returned to the finance ministry in 2016 following the housing and local government ministry’s failure to implement the programme.
“A total of 2,193 participants who had the aid approved were out-of-town participants under the eKasih system, of which 309 could not generate the minimum income; 25 did not make use of the equipment given, while 36 remain in the poor/severely poor category,” read the report.
The findings followed an audit on the 11th Malaysia Plan and 12th Malaysia Plan as at Dec 31.
The report also found that 22 local governments had a total of RM4.82 million remaining from the PPKB programme, which was not spent on aiding the urban poor.
It recommended that the housing and local government ministry re-evaluate the eligibility of participants while ensuring no duplication of aid measures, citing Putrajaya’s limited financial resources.
“The ministry should also assess the need to manage equipment not used by participants of the PPKB programme so that there is no loss on the part of the government for expenses incurred.
“Additionally, focus should be given to efforts to improve the coordination, monitoring, and evaluation mechanism of the programme, in order to achieve the targeted goals effectively.” - FMT

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