Rafizi welcomes private partnerships for deployment of vending machines

 

Economy minister Rafizi Ramli says delays in the deployment of vending machines under the People’s Income Initiative are due to cumbersome regulations. (Bernama pic)

KUALA LUMPUR: Economy minister Rafizi Ramli today welcomed private partnerships to tackle the delays faced by his ministry in deploying vending machines under the People’s Income Initiative (IPR).

Rafizi said the delays were due to cumbersome regulations that had to be navigated before deployment.

“Due to the bottleneck we are facing, we welcome the private sector to take the initiative as well.

“As of now, Atlas is the only private company that has approached us,” he said at a press conference after launching the ministry’s Thirst Quencher Campaign.

The campaign is a strategic collaboration under the IPR between the ministry and Atlas Vending (M) Sdn Bhd, which offers beverages for as low as RM1.

On June 14, Rafizi said his ministry was expecting the procurement of the remaining 4,900 vending machines targeted this year under the IPR by August.

Today, he said the tender had been closed and that the procurement process was complete.

“With the tight process in mind, our target is to deploy the remaining 4,900 vending machines by five to six months down the line,” he added.

Rafizi also spoke of the initiative’s success, saying participating B40 entrepreneurs could generate an average net income of RM3,000 to RM5,000 per month.

The government launched the RM750 million IPR programme in March. An estimated 150,000 people are expected to benefit from the initiative.

The IPR involves three initiatives: food entrepreneurs (Insan), agro-entrepreneurs (Intan), and service operators (Ikhsan).

Insan involves selling ready-made food through vending machines provided by the government.

It was previously reported that an estimated 150,000 people would benefit from the IPR. - FMT