'Poverty and unemployment remain big challenges'

Speakers while addressing a post budget seminar organised by Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan (ICAMP) at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said though the per capita income had increased, yet the poverty and unemployment remained the big challenges in the country.
Speaking on the occasion, the Regional Commissioner Income Tax Haji Ahmed said that national budget would go a long way in strengthening the economy, creating employment opportunities, bringing prosperity to the poor and improving the quality of life. He specially mentioned some of the salient feature of budget 2007-08. He said the present socio-economic problems demanded extra hard work from all of us.
We must rise to the occasion and take up our responsibility to boost the country's economy by paying our share of taxes, he added. He said the economy had shown tremendous success in the recent years. Due to the positive economic indicators, Pakistan is now rated among the fast emerging economies.
LCCI President Shahid Hassan Sheikh said that health, education, IT, agriculture, communication and other sectors had been given priority in budgetary allocations. He added that job creation should have been the key to rid the country of poverty. He also regretted the Finance Ministry did not give weight to the recommendations send by the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry during budget formulation. Citing an example, he said cell phone firms in India were asked to assemble mobile phones in the country to help job creation, where as Pakistan was wasting finance on importing luxury goods that could create new jobs.
He was also pessimistic about doing business in Pakistan. It was becoming non-competitive and the cost was increasing day by day. Although he welcomed the increase in salary of unskilled workers and said that it would have a compound effect on the industry. No one should expect a family to keep the monthly expenses with in Rs 4600 instead a better strategy might have been to keep a check on prices.