Unisame resents district government failure to provide funds

The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has expressed apprehension that district governments may not readily contribute their share of 10 percent in industrial infrastructure development fund as announced in the trade policy.
The Trade and Industry Facilitation Committee of the union reviewed the advantages of the incentives provided in the latest trade policy and expressed its apprehension of delay in disbursements by district governments of their contribution of 10 percent towards upgradation and improvement of industrial estates, in its meeting held on Monday.
Presiding over the meeting, Unisame president Zulfiqar Thaver appreciated the trade policy and remarked that that never before the businessmen so anxiously awaited the policies.
He said the main reason was the receptiveness of the policy-makers, who had been consulting the stakeholders at every stage which was a very positive step.
He called upon all the trade associations to focus on the beneficial policies and materialise the benefits by complying with their obligations.
In this perspective, he referred to the policy of the government to upgrade and improve industrial estates by providing 50 percent from federal governments funds, 25 percent by the provinces, 10 percent by the district governments and 15 percent by the private sector through the relevant trade associations.
The trade associations must immediately act on this and as announced by the ministry that for this purpose joint stock companies would be incorporated, with the partnership of public-private sector, managed by the private sector.
The trade associations must move in this direction and form joint stock companies for the development of industrial estates, he emphasised.
The meeting also requested the district governments to participate in the programme and make the policy succeed in letter and spirit, to build a better Pakistan.
The participants also underlined the need of redefining the role of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) and Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and their proper restructuring as envisaged in the trade policy.
The participants appreciated the fact that it was for the first time that the policy makers realised that trade and industry were so closely linked to each other that facilitation and upgradation of any one ultimately benefited the other.
Referring to the industrial policy, which is likely to be notified shortly and also to the SME policy which would be formulated by the end of 2004 to be implemented in 2005, the participants expressed their hope that likewise the trade policy, both these policies would also be reflective of the aspirations of all the stakeholders.