By Commerce Reporter
LAHORE, November 26 — Governor Punjab Sardar Saleem Haider Khan has said that Governor House serves as a facilitation center for the business community and will continue to provide all possible support to businesses. He said that the lack of trust between the government and the business community must end, because policies cannot be effective unless traders are consulted in the policymaking process. He expressed these views while addressing a meeting at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
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LCCI President Faheem ur Rehman Saigol delivered the welcome address. Senior Vice President Tanveer Ahmed Sheikh and former SVP Khalid Usman, Executive Committee members Aamir Saeed Mian, Muneeb Monnoo, Rana Nisar, Karamat Awan, Sheikh Fayyaz, Umar Sarfraz, Ali Imran, Abdul Majeed, Imran Saleemi, Amna Randhawa, Firdous Nisar, and Ahad Amin Malik were also present.
The Governor said that the government should formally consult the business community when making economic policies. He said that if policies are made with traders’ input, tax collection would also improve significantly. He added that he would meet the Finance Minister and the Chairman of the PPP to strongly present the concerns of the business community.
LCCI President Faheem ur Rehman Saigol said that the biggest challenge facing the country today is the continuous and excessive increase in the cost of doing business. He said that compared to other regional countries, Pakistan has the highest costs of electricity, gas, interest rates, and taxes, which has severely hurt the business environment. He added that Pakistan is also far behind in the global ease-of-doing-business rankings. Removing exporters from the final tax regime has damaged the export sector, while the rise in federal excise duty and raw material cost is forcing multinational companies to leave Pakistan.
He said that the government spends between 14 to 18 billion rupees every year on subsidies and grants for state-owned enterprises — an amount even higher than the latest IMF installment. He said that tax reforms were introduced without consultation with traders, which caused losses to the business community. He suggested focusing on skill development instead of only giving cash assistance under the Benazir Income Support Programme. He also called for a new agriculture policy to meet the country’s food requirements.
He added that Bangladesh’s garment exports have reached 40 billion dollars, while Pakistan’s textile exports, despite being the main sector, have failed to cross 17 billion dollars. He said that political stability is essential for economic progress, and at this stage, Pakistan needs moral and ethical reforms even more than economic reforms. He also proposed forming a ten-year economic plan.
Governor Punjab Sardar Saleem Haider said that the Benazir Income Support Programme has played an important role in reducing poverty, and skill development projects are also underway under the programme. He said that Pakistan is facing a difficult situation because institutions were not reformed with time. However, he expressed hope that through collective efforts, Pakistan can be turned into a strong and respected country.
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