Honouring the hard work: Business community lauds services of ex-TDAP chairman

Efforts of former TDAP chairman for the revival of export industry will long be remembered.

MULTAN: Lauding the services of Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) former chairman SM Munir for the revival of exports, the business community has demanded of the government to confer Sitara-e-Khidmat on the former chairman.

Addressing a meeting on Wednesday, Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Khawaja Jalaluddin Roomi said the efforts of former TDAP chairman for the revival of export oriented industry would be remembered long.

He said a drop in the country’s exports from $25 billion to $20 billion was witnessed due to the long unresolved issues of export industry.

“The government has failed to reduce the cost of doing business over the last four years,” he remarked.

He pointed out that the energy prices for export industry in Pakistan were very high throughout the region and manufacturing was not viable. “The government has failed to bring it at par with the competing countries.”

He said the outgoing the former TDAP chairman has been fighting for the industry throughout his stay at TDAP. Munir was a true advocate of export industry, he added.

He said the business community believed that Munir did his best to restructure TDAP and made it a corruption-free institution.

The government should follow his recommendations to resolve the issues of export industry, he added.

“Especially, the policy-implementation divide has hit hard the export industry of Pakistan amidst strident increase in imports in the country.

The government should vigilantly bridge the policy-implementation gap to strengthen the exporting sectors of economy,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2017.