According to a PIAF report released by its Chairman Sohail Lashari on Thursday, the economic activities could not come out of inertia-like situation for want of bold decisions on the part of the government. The State Bank's initiative of bringing mark-up down to single digit also failed to give any considerable benefit to the stakeholders only because of gas and electricity shortage.
Since no big decision was made in the year 2012, therefore, expectations of any good on the economic front in the year 2013 would be day-dreaming because of election year and with care-taker set-up in place. According to the report, the government needs to take some solid measures to overcome low investment phenomenon as due to alarmingly low local and foreign investments, it is not only the graph of unemployment that is going up with every passing day but crimes and a number of other social evils are fast becoming part of the society.
The country witnessed a string of protests and riots during the summer season last year as the government could not make payments to independent power producers (IPPs). It is very unfortunate that nothing has so far been done to avert such a situation in 2013. It was suggested to the government that it should work out a plan to develop consensus on Kalabagh Dam so that the country could get cheaper electricity.
The report stressed the need for preparation and implementation of a mechanism to bring country out of low investment phenomenon as another 2012 like year would turn the country into a trading place instead of a manufacturing hub. The PIAF report pointed out that heavy borrowing by the government also affected the process of industrialisation in the country the resulted in availability of costly money the business doing people.
The report said that the government would have to shun the policy of lavish spending. Over the issue of trade with India, the PIAF Chairman said that the reservations of the business community regarding Indian Non-Tariff Barriers had already been conveyed to the government.
He said that the government would have made a separate group of experts to cope with trade with India in coming months. Keeping own house in order is a prerequisite to deal with a bigger economy like India but it seemed that the government would not be able to get removed Pakistan-specific Non-Tariff Barriers and the year would pass on like the yester year.
The report suggested to the government to take stock of the whole economic situation with an aim to put an end financial corruption, overcome power and gas shortage and control law and order situation in Karachi that is business hub of the country. The PIAF report said that the Port City was being destroyed through a well-designed and deeply worked- out conspiracy to keep foreign buyers and investors away from this land of opportunities.
The report also invited the government's attention towards public-sector enterprises that are eating up annually Rs 500 billion from the exchequer and called for corrective measures to save precious public money. Lashari said that the free fall of rupee against dollar is a matter of grave concern for the businessmen and same has been conveyed to the Governor State Bank of Pakistan with a suggestion to identify the reasons and take remedial measures.