Public, private sectors can improve Pakistan’s ranking

Lahore Chamber asks govt to consult business community


Our Correspondent October 26, 2017
A Businessman. PHOTO: REUTERS

LAHORE: Pakistan’s ranking in the ease of doing business can be improved through public-private partnership, therefore, the government should take the business community on board, emphasised the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

In a statement, LCCI President Malik Tahir Javed and Vice President Zeeshan Khalil said the country’s ranking should be improved to achieve the required economic goals.

They said the cost of doing business was hindering the growth of all sectors of the economy whether it was manufacturing or agriculture. They called Pakistani merchandise among the best in the world, but said they were fast losing their place in the international market because of high input cost.

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Ease of doing business, cheap electricity generation and good governance should be the cornerstone of new economic policies of the government, they suggested.

They were of the view that economic challenges such as lower exports and foreign direct investment, low tax-to-GDP ratio and inefficiency of public sector enterprises could be tackled through meaningful partnerships and dialogue between the government and private sector.

They pointed out that the biggest issue was how to keep the momentum of growth in the wake of less-than-targeted expansion of agriculture and manufacturing sectors. A widening gap between exports and imports is also a worry that could be tackled by enhancing shipments overseas.

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They asked the government to focus also on education, water, human resources, minerals, public health, tax collection and unchecked corruption to get rid of the economic worries.

The LCCI office-bearers said agriculture was the largest sector as around 43% of labour force was associated with it, which needed revolutionary reforms immediately. Pakistan’s population is growing at a pace of 2.10% per year and if this growth continues for the next two decades, the population will cross 240 million.

In order to feed them, they said, Pakistan needed to increase crop yields at a steady pace and the government should bring about nine million hectares of fertile land under cultivation, which had remained untapped just because of water shortage.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2017.

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