Businessmen call for revised strategy during lockdown

Lament Sindh govt taking decisions without seeking input of industrial, trade community

KARACHI: Business leaders representing different sectors of economy, and while supporting federal and provincial governments’ efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, have called for drafting a revised strategy for lockdown, and allowing limited and well-monitored industrial and trade activities.

That would provide space for continuing sources of livelihood for workers and averting loss of exports, they said. Mismanaged and unsystematic lockdown in Karachi may lead to starvation of a big number of industrial workers as industrialists would not be able to further support their workers without industrial and trade activity, the business leaders said.

Responding to queries of APP, they underlined the need for utilising funds collected by the Sindh Employees Social Security Institution (SESSI), Employees Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) and Workers Welfare Fund in order to support registered workers in the difficult situation facing the country.

They emphasised that the industrialists and exporters would abide by all safety measures recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to control the spread of Covid-19 and would implement the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) being devised by the Sindh government for industries and other businesses.  They claimed that the Sindh government was taking Covid-19-related decisions on its own without taking input of the industrial and trade community, which created serious economic problems including the threat to sustainability of workers’ livelihood and cancellation of export orders due to delay in shipment of goods.

“After cancelling their orders, foreign buyers will shift to other countries. And, it will take a lot of time for Pakistan to recapture the lost export markets and will make a big dent in the economy,” remarked Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, a textile exporter and Chief Coordinator of the Council of Textile Associations of Pakistan. He voiced fear that the country would face a shortfall in export proceeds if shipments did not immediately resume. SITE Association of Industry Patron-in-Chief and Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry former president Muhammad Zubair Motiwala alleged that the Sindh government while deciding to go for the lockdown did not take the business community into confidence.

“At least, we should have been informed about the lockdown three or four days ago so that we could take certain steps to prevent ourselves from loss to the best possible extent,” he said, adding that due to the sudden lockdown, a big inventory of raw material, especially for wet processing in textile units, and of semi-finished goods vanished. Furthermore, finished goods could not be shipped to the exporters. SITE Association of Industry President Suleman Chawla called for utilising the funds of SESSI, EOBI and Workers Welfare Fund on the industrial workers in a bid to save them from starvation.

He pointed out that 16,000 to 17,000 industrial units of Karachi had contributed billions of rupees to SESSI, EOBI and Workers Welfare Fund and the money had piled up in banks. “This is the right time to utilise these funds to support industrial workers,” he remarked. Chawla added that the SITE Association had set up a rapid response team to provide ration and medical facilities for the industrial workers at their doorsteps.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2020.

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