The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Wednesday came hard on all the concerned ministries and the departments of the federal government for keeping the business community, the main stakeholder in the annual budgeting, out of the budget drafting process.
'It is beyond the understanding of the LCCI that how the process of budget drafting was being carried out without the much-needed input of the main stakeholders, The President, LCCI, Mian Muzaffar Ali said in a statement. All the previous governments used to get a feedback from the business community well before finalising the budget document but this time it seems some elements were trying to keep the government in the dark about the point of view of the Chambers and other trade bodies.
'If the important document like budget would be prepared without even consulting the stakeholders, one can well imagine the end results,' he added. The LCCI President also said that both the trade and industry were facing unparalleled crisis and wanted to discuss quite a few things with the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Industries and the Federal Board of Revenue.
Instead of seeking its proposals, nobody from these Ministries even tried to contact the LCCI and consultation with the body is a far cry. It would have been better if the federal government, through a directive, had asked the entire budget making machinery to visit the chambers and other trade bodies before initiating the budget process.
Mian Muzaffar urged the President, Asif Ali Zardari and the Prime Minister, Yousaf Raza Gilani to look into the matter and direct the concerned ministries and departments to consult all the chambers and trade bodies before finalising the budget document. Otherwise it would be difficult to achieve the targets in the coming year, he feared.
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