Due share: Business tycoon extols private sector’s role

Mian Mansha asks government to empower private sector.

LAHORE:

The present government has formulated effective policies to lift the economy of the country, but they should be implemented without any delay to be effective. Pakistan has great resources which, if exploited properly, can help the nation stand on its own feet, said Chairman MCB Bank, Mian Muhammad Mansha.

Addressing a seminar, Mansha said that the economic policies being framed by the present government deserve appreciation and it shows that they have realised the importance of the private sector.

Mansha’s business empire benefited greatly from the privatisation push by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government in the early nineties, acquiring many companies at what are considered to be favourable rates.

The private sector, he said, had been marginalised in the past but it is high time that we understand it is the lifeblood of the economy of any country. The services of this sector have never been acknowledged, he said, and added that it is the responsibility of the media to highlight their achievements.

The media can mould mindsets and it should educate the masses regarding trends in the economy, he continued, and said that it is the media through which an environment of competition can develop, he added.

Though our country is faced with the menace of terrorism, we can still create avenues for foreign investment by creating special economic zones for the investors, he said.

Mansha said that accountability and transparency at the micro and macro levels is imperative to create a competitive atmosphere for business. China made progress because they did not tolerate corruption and dishonesty, we will have to follow their example and bring every culprit to book, said Mansha.

The energy crisis can be resolved by deregulating this sector on the lines of United Kingdom, he said. The United States made rapid progress because they produced committed entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, and Pakistan will have to encourage the private sector to move forward on the road of progress, said Mansha.

Doctor Salman Shah, adviser to former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, was also present and said that change cannot be brought without having the clarity of thoughts. First, we will have to set clear aims and then we will have to pursue them, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2013.

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