According to newspaper reports, the provincial governments are ready to introduce Doing Business Reform Plans in their respective jurisdictions in consultation with the Federal Ministry of Finance. Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has formed a committee comprising the representatives from the federal and provincial governments to share policy initiatives and discuss progress on the Doing Business Reform plans to attract foreign investment in the country. At the first stage, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan will finalise their respective reform plans and methods of implementation within a specific timeframe. In the second stage, the World Bank will be informed about details and methodology of the proposed plans to remove any reservations of the donor agency. The federal and provincial governments will also share lists of potential public sector contributors. The provincial reform plans will initially focus on short term goals which could be achievable in one year while the next medium term plan will take up to three years to implement the plan and develop conducive environment for foreign investment. A strong monitoring mechanism will also be devised to track process of development and progress on the reform plans. The provinces are free to launch economic and industrial plans after the 18th Amendment and the provincial governments are required to share responsibilities with the federal government which should have a role of just guardian.
The Sindh government is already taking short, medium and long term measures to work out different modalities to implement the reform plan. There is a need to utilize potentials of the public sector contributors and identify impediments in way of industrial growth, especially in the export oriented industries. Though the federal and provincial governments have introduced one window operations to facilitate the business community, but there is a need to curtail the number of laws which some time overlap and create confusion in the minds of the officials and the entrepreneurs and become a hurdle in the way of in industrial development. The current situation is that the small and medium enterprises have to comply with a multitude of laws and the government agencies. The time has come the provincial chief executives should accept responsibilities and face economic challenges with a brave heart. Provinces are now independent to launch their own development plans and create business friendly environment in the respective jurisdictions. Every province should ensure transparency in its financial matters and launch industrial plans in collaboration with local and foreign investors. Corruption is the major hurdle in the way of investment which must be curtailed.
