LAHORE: Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has hoped that the year 2014 would prove a year of economic revival.
According to a PIAF report, GSP Plus Status, work on hydle power projects, incentives to the businessmen through withdrawal of harsh budgetary measures and government resolve to strengthen public-private sectors consultation had already laid the foundation for putting the economy back on rails.
The PIAF report said that the previous government’s failure to take appropriate measures to overcome the economic challenges and to control law and order situation had pushed the country behind. Negative sentiments not only discouraged the local investors but the foreign investments also remained alarmingly low.
The PIAF Chairman Malik Tahir Javaid said that an objective review of the outgoing year would reveal a sorry tail of mismanagement as the gas connections were given on political grounds instead of giving priority to the manufacturing sector.
Malik said that winning the GSP Plus Status and government focus on power projects would help bring much needed Foreign Direct Investment besides bringing down the graph of unemployment that has gone up to considerable level.
He said that the government has adopted the right approach by attaching priority to the economy issues as once the businesses are on track no external force would be able to impose dictations.
The PIAF Chairman said that what was needed now is the early construction of water reservoirs including Kalabagh Dam therefore government should untilise all its energies to ensure building of Kalabagh Dam to cut the fast galloping cost of doing business in Pakistan.
He also hoped that the government would focus on Public Sector Enterprises that are eating up huge revenues without any considerable return.
He said that transparent privatization of loss-making Public Sector Enterprises and appointment of Competent Professional Managers in underperformed institutions was a long standing demand of the private sector as it would help bring in much-needed foreign investment.
Malik Tahir Javaid said that restructuring of trade and industry related government institutions and decision to end SRO culture would help bridge Public-Private Sector trust deficit.
