KARACHI:
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb recently stated that remittances will reach $35 billion in current fiscal. This is really good news! I would urge the PM, the Finance Minister, the SIFC and other powerful stakeholders to think about allocating a chunk of these remittances every year for our national external debt reduction, standing at $133.50 as of September 2024, as per media reports. It would be a great milestone if we can manage to consistently allocate $ 6-10 billion every year from 2025 to 2028 towards paying off the most expensive portion of our external debt. At the end of the day, controlling the size and quantum of our external debt ought to be one of the cornerstones of our economic policy as it would send positive signaling to the world that Pakistan is fully afloat and capable of paying off its debt through amortization.
The Finance Minister also said that State Owned Enterprises are eating up Rs2.20 billion a day from the national exchequer. That is another gargantuan issues plaguing our economy. I think we need a multi-pronged approach to deal with this issue: privatise some units; downsize the staff in others; restructure operations in some more; and (finally) close down all those units which are loss-making in a consistent and obstinate manner with no reprieve. Just imagine that billions and billions of rupees thus saved could be directed towards digitalisation and IT programmes, key infrastructure developments, polio programme support, population control endeavours, and so forth, making sure the nation’s socio-economic upward trajectory is solidified.
The Finance Minister is like the captain of an aircraft. He must use the levers and indicators present in the cockpit in a swift and co-ordinated fashion, using all his professional expertise, to accelerate the economic pie of the country.
Abbas R Siddiqi
Lahore
