‘Private sector has large role to play in economy’
Regulations are being reviewed to ensure ease of doing business: Punjab Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht
The provincial finance minister said they had set the direction, but many initiatives would take more than five years to show their results. photo: express
LAHORE:
Inefficiencies and the government’s size were points of concern, said Punjab Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht, adding that the private sector had a larger role to play.
Speaking at the Pakistan Leadership Conversation 2019, organised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, he said, “We feel the private sector has a large role to play and the government shall act as a facilitator. This is why we talk about ease of doing business initiatives.”
Bakht added that in Punjab they were scrutinising every regulation with business orientation to check if it was necessary and supported by law. “Going through the filtration process, we found that only a small number of viable regulations in law are required to govern,” he said.
The provincial finance minister said they had set the direction, but many initiatives would take more than five years to show their results. “We, as a nation, have already missed out on the global industrialisation phase, now we are in the age of digitalisation and we must make up for the lost time.”
Bakht added that both the government and private sector needed to change and make innovations. Speaking on the occasion, Nishat Group Chairman Mian Muhammad Mansha called on the authorities to increase competition among public utilities and other corporations and reduce the size of the government, ie removing the unnecessary layers of departments.
“There is a lot difference in myths we have created and the actual ground realities, we as Pakistanis always look towards the single or dark side of the picture,” he added.
Mansha said, “We have to create competition within government corporations and see what is going wrong with us. After every few years, we have to knock the door of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but no one is resolving the root issue.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2019.
Inefficiencies and the government’s size were points of concern, said Punjab Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht, adding that the private sector had a larger role to play.
Speaking at the Pakistan Leadership Conversation 2019, organised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, he said, “We feel the private sector has a large role to play and the government shall act as a facilitator. This is why we talk about ease of doing business initiatives.”
Bakht added that in Punjab they were scrutinising every regulation with business orientation to check if it was necessary and supported by law. “Going through the filtration process, we found that only a small number of viable regulations in law are required to govern,” he said.
The provincial finance minister said they had set the direction, but many initiatives would take more than five years to show their results. “We, as a nation, have already missed out on the global industrialisation phase, now we are in the age of digitalisation and we must make up for the lost time.”
Bakht added that both the government and private sector needed to change and make innovations. Speaking on the occasion, Nishat Group Chairman Mian Muhammad Mansha called on the authorities to increase competition among public utilities and other corporations and reduce the size of the government, ie removing the unnecessary layers of departments.
“There is a lot difference in myths we have created and the actual ground realities, we as Pakistanis always look towards the single or dark side of the picture,” he added.
Mansha said, “We have to create competition within government corporations and see what is going wrong with us. After every few years, we have to knock the door of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but no one is resolving the root issue.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 21st, 2019.