The Minister of State for Finance, Omar Ayub, stated this while talking to newsmen after addressing national conference on 'Value-Addition through Internal Audit', organised by Institute of Internal Audit, Lahore Chapter, here on Friday.
He also disclosed that chief financial officers and chief internal auditors would be appointed in all ministries, and they would help their Secretaries in dealing with financial matters, and legislation would be completed by August this year.
He said that agriculture tax was a provincial subject, and its shifting to federal government was not feasible. He stressed the need for value-addition in major crops, like wheat, sugarcane, rice, maize, vegetables and fruits, to enhance their exports.
Regarding the ratio of utilisation of PSDP and allocation in the next budget, he said that it was going exactly according to the target, while the allocation for the next financial year would be announced in the budget.
Addressing the conference, Omar said that the country's economy was growing with sustainability, and the economy size had increased from $62 billion to $135 billion, which was because of the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, who took bold and tough decisions with regard to liberalisation of economy, privatisation and continuity of policies. He said that persistently maintaining seven percent growth was not a small achievement, because of which ground realities were changing, particularly in the rural area. Emphasising the need for value-addition, the Minister said that multinational companies have now started investing in rural areas for processing of milk which would help improve livestock and dairy sector.
The foreign investors are coming to Pakistan because of the conducive environment available here, he added. He said that Pakistan has great potential to enhance motorcycle exports. Presently, Pakistan is producing 0.7 to 0.8 million motorcycles annually while 1.8 million motorbikes would be produced in next few years for which 200 small size vending industries are supporting the motorcycle industry, he said.
He urged the auditors to advise the companies how to utilise their potential in the best way. Some of the companies are being headed by family members, and managers are not empowered; thus the auditors should use their influence to change this culture, he said.
He urged the entrepreneurs to follow the economic model of Chinese companies which do not look towards local banks for loans and fulfil their need from abroad. Moreover, the manufacturers face wastage loss of about 6.5 percent as compared to Chinese 2.5 to 3 percent, which could yield good margin to producers.
He stressed the need for enhancing productivity of labour and to avoid wastage at all levels to maximise their margin. The government has attached priority to the key areas including development of infrastructure, fulfilment of energy requirement and human resource development while the private sector should also play its role. The government has increased social sector allocation by four percent and doubled the education and health funds.
He was optimistic about the sustainable growth in future and said that core inflation had been brought down. However, inflation is because of food items, which constitute 40 percent of the consumers' price index. The food items come under jurisdiction of provincial and district governments but the federal government also took serious notice of the situation and focused on strengthening supply chain, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Auditor General of Pakistan, Muhammad Younas Khan highlighted the importance of internal audit for strengthening the financial transparency.