KARACHI: Calling for restructuring of National Finance Commission (NFC) award, former finance minister Shaukat Tarin said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) would agree on a ‘charter of economy’ with other political parties to overcome the country’s economic woes.
“We (PTI) will develop consensus on the charter of economy with other political parties after next general elections,” Shaukat Tarin told Business Recorder on the sidelines of Rotary Club Karachi’s meeting held at a local hotel on Saturday.
During the meeting, Tarin spoke at length on “The Way Forward for the Economy” and shared his deep insights on the way forward to heal the ailing economy of the country.
He said there should be a plan to deal with current crises, which also requires political stability through uninterrupted democratic process and implementation of rule of law. “We must also have short, medium and long term plans to achieve inclusive and sustainable growth over a thirty years horizon.”
Tarin also stressed upon the need of political consensus on a few major economic issues through the charter of economy.
For sustainable growth, he was of the view Pakistan would have to eliminate gap between imports and exports in the next ten years by increasing exports through import substitution. “The saving rate must be increased from present 12-14 % to 28-30 % in the next seven to ten years,” he said.
Former minister also suggested improving productivity in our agriculture through end-to-end re-engineering and in the industry through consolidation, value addition and increasing competitiveness. “Objective should be that we become food exporters”.
On fiscal management, Tarin argued that reduction in government’s expenditures by cutting down subsidies, proper debt management and making Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) more efficient through Public Private Partnership (PPP) while ensuring federation and provinces do not overlap are pivotal for a country’s financial health. He said foreign direct investment is needed in the export industry, adding that value addition and consolidation of industry for exponential growth in the export sector.
Tarin said the government should lay emphasis on the information technology (IT) sector, which has a potential to earn 50 to 60 billion dollars in next five years.
Charter President Rotary Club of Karachi Centennial Navaid M Khan also spoke. The event was attended among others by the Turkish Consul General in Karachi and other members of the diplomatic corps.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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