Introduce reforms rather than shut down the EDB

Pakistan has shut down a body over corruption complaints; was there no alternative?

ISLAMABAD: The Engineering Development Board (EDB) was shut down after complaints by the business community over its non-cooperative behaviour in facilitating investments.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif took little time in deciding that it was best to shut down the EDB.

The surprising bit, however, is that no alternatives were presented in the meeting that was held to address the issues of the EDB. Is it really the only solution Pakistan could come up with?

The EDB had been working under the Ministry of Industries and Production. But when the auto policy was drafted, the ministry was not part of the core team that finalised decisions.



While there is a lot of hue and cry about the EDB, it is a fact that Pakistan’s engineering and auto sectors have grown in the last few years.

Several new entrants are gearing up to penetrate Pakistan’s auto sector and consumers are looking forward to having a wider range of choices.

Unfortunately, Pakistan’s economy has always depended on services and agriculture sectors for growth, and the importance of the engineering sector was not truly realised until 1995 when the EDB was first established.

Role of the body

Till recently, it was the mainstay of the engineering industry.

All industry-related issues were referred to the Board where technical input was required in various policies; whether it was protection against imports or foreign competition.

The local industry has had a dire cash flow issue due to dearth of financial infrastructure, skilled manpower, and energy breakdowns.

At present, there has been no alternate arrangement made to deal with the industry.

Four new entrants have been granted Greenfield status, a move set to attract $2 billion as investment. One window operations of EDB shall be fragmented in case activities are assigned to various organisations.

Considering the technical expertise, there is a need for a dedicated body for implementation of the auto policy.

The absence of a dedicated body shall hamper operations of approved investments and discourage prospective investors.



The transition may de-rail the system with serious consequential business loss to the industry and exchequer. It would require a pool of technical professionals with a good understanding of the local manufacturing industry.

A better solution may be reforms. The government should conduct due diligence of the working of EDB and restructure it rather than dissolving it. The government should start inquiries against those officials who were involved in corrupt practices and were causing embarrassment.

The EDB should be empowered and interference should end. The practice of appointing heads on political basis should be end and selection of professionals should be made on merit. Otherwise, shutting down any entity on basis of corruption will not result in any change. The solution is to bring reforms in state run entities to ensure good governance and transparency to expedite functionality.

The writer is a staff correspondent

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2017.

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