Economic challenges: FCCI urges sustained growth of 8% per annum

Top priority for the govt should be revival of the economy.

FAISALABAD: For the economy to grow at 8% to steer the country out of the economic crisis, sustained economic policies and far-reaching reforms are needed, said Mian Zahid Aslam, president Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) on Wednesday.

Aslam said that the top priority of the government should be on revival of economy by gradually increasing the GDP growth rate to 8% per annum.

He said that only nations with strong economies can survive in the world. Aslam said that in a national conference on “Revival of Pakistan Economy” by FCCI, the FCCI proposed a clear-cut roadmap to the government, and all the top most economists of Pakistan agreed that the economy should grow at least 8 per cent per annum in the following years to sustain itself. He said that the labour force is growing at 3.2% with new workers entering into the employment market every year, but job provision is less than 1.4% per year, thus the growth rate is imperative to productively absorb 230 million youths over the next 35 years.

He said that budget deficit has far exceeded its target of 4.5% in the Federal Budget 2012-13 and the real solution lies with the deregulation of the economy. Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) running into losses need to be privatised to save Rs400 billion, or 15% of the budget revenue.

Aslam said that severe shortage of electricity and gas has already retarded GDP growth to 2-3% and the government should resolve the energy crisis and make this its first priority. He said that since 1974 no large dam has been constructed in the country without which the costly options of thermal generation have made the cost of doing business much higher in Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21^st, 2013.

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