LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged all the political parties to shun their differences and join hands with the private sector for preparation and implementation of a national agenda to bring about an industrial and economic revolution.
In a statement LCCI President Ijaz A. Mumtaz, Senior Vice President Mian Nauman Kabir and Vice President Syed Mahmood Ghaznavi said that political debate and economic policy considerations require convergence at this critical juncture of country’s history.
“This is a prerequisite to help reduce dependence on International Financial Institutions (IFIs) like International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and for paving way for self-reliance in coming years.
“Political stability is must for economic development therefore all the political parties should show maturity and try to resolve issues through talks as politics of agitation and “dharnas” are pushing the national economy to the wall”, they added.
The LCCI office-bearers said that Pakistan, at this point in time, is in dire need of stability in policy making and strong institutions and to achieve the very objective, both the politicians and the business leaders would have to join their heads for finding out a common economic agenda.
To compete head-to-head with the great nations of the world, the LCCI office-bearers said, the country needs a growth of eight per cent for more than five years.
The LCCI office-bearers said that all the political forces should, without any further delay, initiate consultations with the economic leadership, including the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, to chalk out an elaborate plan of action, aimed at reducing dependence on external assistance and achieving the long-cherished economic goals.
They said that availability of cheaper equity is a prerequisite to help expedite the process of industrialization in the country that in turn would also bring down the graph of unemployment.
“Unemployment is mother of a number of social ills being witnessed by the country today and the private sector has the solution provided it is facilitated through a proper methodology.”
The LCCI office-bearers also stressed the need for an early consensus in all the provinces for early initiation of work on mega water reservoirs including Kalabagh Dam to overcome electricity shortage and the power tariff issue. They said that huge coal reserves and existing potential to produce electricity through solar means also needs a workable and time-bound strategy after due consultation of public and private sectors.
They said that the country’s export base could be widened by encouraging especially the local investors and then the foreign investors who have lost their trust in existing policy framework. “The local investors have the ability to convince the foreign investors for investment in various sectors.”
