LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry demanded of the government to run all Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) under Public-Private partnership as majority of public entities have failed to deliver desired results.
According to a statement issued here, the LCCI president Sheikh Muhammad Arshad, senior vice president Almas Hyder and vice president Nasir Saeed said that government would have to some extraordinary plan to control heavy loss Rs. 600 billion to the national exchequer.
“Business community is the ultimate loser as these loss making Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) are being run through the duties and taxes imposed on the trade and industrial sectors.”
They said that though “salvage plan” is well on the way as far as Pakistan Railways and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) are concerned but situation in the other PSEs was quite disappointing.
The LCCI office-bearers said that keeping in view the massive loss being caused by the Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) government should take measures on war footing to make these organizations profitable or go for the option of privatization.
They said that in the advanced economies like the United States, United Kingdom and Japan etc, the role of PSEs is minimal and the private sector is the most important instrument of socio-economic prosperity, and there is continued growth of privately-run corporations.
They said that the significance of PSEs cannot be ignored, in view of the fact that they remain the most employment-intensive and capital-intensive organizations.
The LCCI office-bearers suggested formation of a committee of experts from public and private sectors to revisit strategy and adopt methods which provide a new impetus to the PSEs. They said that the committee should go deep into the broader political philosophy and vision under which the PSEs will be required to play their role in the new competitive environment.
They said that PSEs of Pakistan should continue to remain the backbone of the economy and therefore their revival is critical to our economic survival. They said that PSEs are the only industries that the nation can depend on to check further decline in our growth rate. They said that it is all the more necessary for the government to increase its efforts for revival of the PSEs. Greater autonomy and non interference in their functioning have to be guaranteed so that the country can fully reap full the benefits of PSEs. They said that PSEs are not only industries for short-term economic and commercial gains but are our national assets.
They said that national flag carrier Pakistan International Airline was in dire need of new blood and additional aircraft that could be possible with special efforts of the government. They said that cut in political interference, training of staff members and cost cutting measures could control the losses of the airline and streamlining of flight operations will lead to sustainable revenues to the PIA.
