KARACHI: Those of us who have undertaken business ventures at the global level, and those of us feeling the pulse of trade and industry, know what the real economic situation is like. We are pinning our hopes on the new economic team, which includes some competent players. We are sanguine that pragmatic policies would be formulated, and most importantly, implemented. Nawaz Sharif must (even before taking oath) convene a two-day business conference and invite maximum number of business leaders to it.
The participants of this conference should come up with workable, practical and functional solutions rather than rhetorical bunkum and must shun sycophancy and flattery, which have been the hallmark of the country’s business leadership until now. Focus should be on the provision of low-cost housing, regional trade, and encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises to jump-start the economy and provide large-scale employment. Low-cost housing is the fast-track solution to all basic needs. Businessmen should be asked to head governmental organisations and bodies, and not retired bureaucrats, uniformed personnel, imported managers and toadies. The Eighteenth Amendment, the Benazir Income Support Programme and the local bodies mechanism should be revisited. The government should refrain from taking populist measures that may sound politically expedient but in the longer run, are prone to corruption and mismanagement.
Majyd Aziz
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2013.
