CM Bizenjo approves first SME strategy

Working paper will now be presented to provincial cabinet for final approval

QUETTA:

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Quddus Bizenjo has approved the province’s first small and medium enterprise (SME) development strategy by signing a summary moved by the department of industry and commerce, said the CM’s press secretary on Sunday.

Under the National SME Policy 2021, a provincial SME working group had been formed under the chairmanship of the chief secretary. The handout said the working group will facilitate business development in the province by providing an easy and accessible SME environment.

Besides, the group will monitor the implementation of the SME policy and strategy.

It may be recalled that the federal government has also prepared the National SME Policy which comprises short and medium-term action plans.

A meeting of the provincial SME working group was held on December 5, 2022 under the chairmanship of Balochistan Chief Secretary Abdul Aziz Uqaili.

During the meeting, the provincial working group reviewed the technical paper of the SME development strategy, implementation management structure and other activities.

The same technical paper will be put forward in the next session of the provincial cabinet for further approval.

In April last year, Balochistan Acting Governor Mir Jan Muhammad Jamali said the economic future of the province was linked to the mines, minerals and fisheries sectors which could provide thousands of jobs if developed properly.

He expressed these views while speaking to office-bearers of the All Pakistan Mines and Minerals Association Balochistan.

The delegation led by Fateh Shah Arif called on the governor and discussed with him problems faced by mining companies.

Jamali said the government was committed to promoting mines and mineral sectors to improve the socio-economic conditions of the people of Balochistan.

“The government has evolved a strategy to promote mines and mineral sectors,” Jamali said.

He assured the office-bearers of the mines and minerals association of addressing their grievances on a priority basis. The governor noted that infrastructure would be developed to facilitate mine owners as well as labourers.

The governor said steps would be taken for the protection of mines and to provide better safety conditions to the colliers inside coal mines of Balochistan.

“Mine owners and workers are facing a host of issues,” Fateh Shah Arif, the leader of the association, said.

The governor directed the mines and minerals department to listen to and address the grievances of mine owners and labourers. Governor Jamali said jobs of thousands of people in the coastal belt were also linked with the fisheries sector.

The mining sector in Balochistan is very backward where dozens of accidents occur each year due to lack of safety procedures or lack of legislation or its enforcement on the part of the government.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 17^th, 2023.