ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue has decided to discuss the first quarterly report of the State Bank of Pakistan on the state of national economy on coming Wednesday. The Finance Ministry laid the said report in the Senate on Friday last.
The report has shown some concerns on lower growth in tax collections, slow privatisation process of the loss making state owned enterprises, dwindling exports as well as unsatisfactory state of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country.
“Therefore, the Senate Finance and Revenue committee decided to hold a question and answer session with Finance Ministry” a source privy to Chairman Committee Salim Manviwala told Customs Today, adding that committee had an appreciative view about the said report because SBP had been reporting state of economy as good in the past without shedding any light on grey or weak areas.
In this regard, Finance Ministry is making preparations for possible briefing to the committee on said matter as there had been news reports that Finance Ministry tried to influence on the report as well as delayed its vetting for almost two months.
Moreover, the source said that committee would also get a briefing from the Finance Ministry about working paper submitted by the Competition Commission of Pakistan regarding amendments in the Competition Commission Act along with possible response of the ministry to the said working paper.
In December 2015, the source added that the CCP recommended to the federal and provincial governments to amend the registration laws for firms to minimise potential risk of deceptive marketing.
In this regard CCP sought suitable amendments in their territorial jurisdictions of the provincial and federal governments with regard to the Partnership Act, 1932, the Societies Registration Act, 1860, the Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies (Registration and Control) Ordinance, 1961, the Trusts Act, 1882 and the Co-operative Societies Act, 1925 so as to bar registration of potentially deceptive firm names with an aim to minimising the potential for deceptive marketing.
The agenda for the said meeting of the committee also reveals that committee will also discuss the issue of borrowings from World Bank and Asian Development Bank to the non governmental organizations working in Balochistan.
Similarly, the committee will also issue of appointment of members from all provinces in the Board of Directors of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP). “Both the above issues had been hot for discussion in the economic circles in the recent past therefore committee decided to take them up with the Finance Ministry” the source added.
