Wish list: For next budget, MQM puts its money on public transport

‘The energy crisis is the biggest obstacle to economic growth’.

KARACHI:

The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has urged the government to give Sindh funds for a mass transit system in Karachi, including the Karachi Circular Railway, in the federal budget for the next fiscal year.

Speaking at a press conference, the party’s deputy convener, Dr Farooq Sattar, said that cities such as Karachi and Lahore need mass transit systems and the government must allocate funds for such projects in the coming budget.

Immediate funds are needed for the water supply projects to Karachi such as the K-IV that would give 150 million gallons per day.

Considering the economic and social problems of the country, the MQM is convinced that the energy crisis has become the biggest hurdle to economic growth, Sattar said. “The top priority of the government should be to deal with the energy crisis and invest heavily in energy-generation projects to reduce the economic and social problems of the common [person].”

Projects such as the import of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and improving the efficiency of electricity generation systems are the two top priority areas where government can allocate funds in the new budget, he said. Energy experts believe that LNG imports and increasing the efficiency of power plants are some of the few short-term measures available to Pakistan.

Contrary to the government stance on the monetary policy, he said, Pakistan cannot afford double-digit interest rates at 14 per cent. “We need to bring down interest rates to the single digits to provide cheap loans to industry and small businesses, which will help reduce unemployment,” Sattar said.

Commenting on inflation, he said Pakistan is levying taxes on the common person without providing jobs. “This situation can only be dealt with when we bring interest rates to 6 or 7 per cent so that people can start their own businesses.”

The government can also create jobs in construction by plugging in to overseas Pakistanis. “We can provide land and ask overseas Pakistanis to develop low-cost housing schemes,” he said, adding that millions of new jobs could be created as over 50 industries are allied with the construction industry.

Dr Sattar said that injustice and discrimination in the tax system are some of the biggest problems. He stressed the need to improve law and order in order to attract investment. He asserted that peace and tranquility in Karachi - the financial hub of the country - was important for the stability of the country.

Speaking about the optimization of available resources, he said that an additional Rs800 billion to Rs1,200 billion could be generated through good governance, efficient tax collection, plugging the leakage in the tax system, eliminating corruption and widening the tax base. “All taxable incomes should be taxed without any discrimination,” he stressed, referring to agriculture income.

For sustainable economic development we need to broaden our tax base, he said, adding that the misuse of the Afghan Transit Trade should be stopped to annually save at least Rs100 billion to Rs200 billion.

The MQM stressed the need for land and agricultural reforms. Micro-financing should be available to the poor.

The minimum wage should be increased to Rs10,000 and that the salaries of government employees should also be increased, factoring in inflation.

The MQM wants national security schemes to cover health, education, involuntary unemployment and old age benefits. Budgetary allocations for education and health should be increased to at least 5.5 per cent of GDP.

Incentives need to be given to overseas Pakistanis for the smooth and quick transfer of remittances.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 3^rd, 2011.