Senate Standing Committee on Commerce headed by Senator Shibli Faraz on Thursday ordered a thorough audit of the expenditure incurred on exhibitions organised by the Trade Development of Pakistan (TDAP) aimed at determining the way national exchequer was spent. A sub- committee headed by former Finance Minister Senator Salim Mandviwala and comprising Senator Mrs Robina Khalild and Senator Usman Khan Kakar will examine spending on exhibitions, including petrol bills. Senator Mandviwala has already resigned as member of TDAP Board. However, official documents tabled at the committee say that TDAP has not received a formal resignation from him so far.
Shibli Faraz, who was annoyed at the Commerce Ministry and TDAP management for not extending required assistance to an exhibition of Gems and Jewellery organised by KPK's private sector in Islamabad, suggested that TDAP should be wound up as it has failed to achieve its goals.
The organiser of the exhibition, who was invited to the meeting, complained that neither the Commerce Ministry nor TDAP was extending any support to the industry in KPK which has already suffered due to terrorism. Secretary TDAP, Mrs Rabiya Javeri Agha, explained that TDAP extended Rs 1.8 million last year to the exhibitors and asked them to submit details of expenditure but they have failed to comply with the instructions so far, adding that TDAP has to complete its paper work. She said the exhibitors have sought Rs 1.2 million for recent exhibition in Islamabad and suggested that such exhibitions should be organised in the province.
Senator Rubina Khalid supported the viewpoint of the exhibitors, saying that business in KPK is not feasible in the current circumstances. "We have paid a heavy price against terrorism. Most of the Pathans have shifted to Islamabad due to the menace of terrorism; that's' why every second person in federal capital is Pathan," she added.
After evaluating the situation Commerce Minister, Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan came to the rescue of Secretary TDAP, saying that the concerned sector should come up with specific issues so that the Commerce Ministry may take them up at appropriate fora. He informed the committee that Commerce Ministry arranged a meeting of Gems and Jewellery sector with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in September last year. He further argued that TDAP is not only accountable to the committee but also to Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and for this purpose paper work is necessary. He offered the exhibitors to come to the Commerce Ministry so that paper work could be completed. He said that TDAP has sponsored the exhibition sixteen times and will continue to do so.
The Commerce Minister further stated that the government is extending all possible assistance to all the export-oriented sectors of each province. He also announced construction of an Expo Centre in Peshawar next year at a cost of Rs 5 billion. He said KPK government is extending full cooperation in this regard. He said traders had stated that they face problems in doing trade in dollars with Afghanistan and suggested that they should be allowed to trade in Pak rupee, adding that the government accepted their demand.
Chairman Standing Committee took a serious note of 'non-cooperation' by TDAP and ordered a detailed audit of spending on exhibitions. Shibli expressed serious reservations at the Chief Executive TDAP, S. M. Munir, for not attending the meetings of Standing Committee and proposed to wind up the "failed" organisation. Senator Salim Mandviwala endorsed his suggestion.
Faraz criticised the 18th Amendment in the Constitution, saying "the amendment was a big change but it has divided one country into four countries as it has given discretionary powers to the Centre to extend assistance to its like-minded provinces". He argued that the KPK is suffering for the last 40 years and is not getting due importance.
Dastgir and Mandviwala also exchanged words when the issue of exports performance came under a discussion. However, at the end both agreed that the main purpose of the government and opposition was to take the country ahead.
The Commerce Minister also briefed the committee that the trade policy for this year has been announced and implemented. He further added that to review the implementation status of the policy, meetings are conducted every month regularly and issues are discussed in detail. He said that an amount of Rs 1.08 billion has been remitted to the SBP to implement the export initiatives of last year whereas funding for STPF 2015-18 has also been made available.
Talking about the energy supply to industrial units, he said that as a result of government initiatives uninterrupted 24-hour supply of electricity is ensured to the industrial units through industrial feeders. He said some hurdles remain in supplying electricity to industrial zones on mix feeders, adding that supply of gas to the industrial sector is also ensured.
The representative of Ministry of Science and Technology briefed the committee about the available resources for checking the quality of products. He said that technology and human resources available for testing of the products are up to international standards and recognised internationally. He further added that the basic role of Ministry of Science and Technology with reference to the export products is to generate awareness among the people about the internationally recognised standards from exporter to a common producer. For this, different training programmes, workshops and awareness campaigns are launched from time to time in different regions.
Chairman committee stressed the need to export dates, fruits and halal food. He underscored the need for quality control. The officials of PCSIR and PSQCA argued that Pakistani exporters have to follow standards of different countries to reach the market. The committee was told that most of the Halal food market's share in the possession of by non-Muslim instead of Muslim countries. The non- Muslim countries also follow standards of Halal food.
It was suggested that a working group of different Ministries should be strengthened to evolve joint strategy instead of individual efforts to improve quality of exportable items. For this purpose close co-ordination is required between the trade promotion organisation and PSQCA.
Senator Hasil Bazinjo while talking about fruits and vegetable exports said that best quality fruits and vegetables cannot be exported unless cold storage facility is available. He emphasised acquiring cold storage facility in highly cultivated regions so that wastage of fruits and vegetables could be avoided.
Commerce Ministry has demand a non development budget of Rs 4.690 billion for 2016-17 as compared to Rs 5.123 billion earmarked in 2015-16 indicating a reduction of Rs 440 million on the instructions of Commerce Minister. According to official documents, Commerce Ministry has sought Rs 452.5 million for its main secretariat, Rs 135 million for National Tariff Commission(NTC), Rs 1.173 billion for Export Development Fund (EDF), Rs 40 million for Pakistan Institute of Trade and Development, Islamabad, Rs 39.65 million for Directorate General of Trade Organisation, Islamabad, Rs 64 million for Trade Dispute Resolution Organisation, Islamabad, Rs 1.067 billion for TDAP, Rs 1.3 million for liaison office Afghan transit trade Chaman.
Senate Standing Committee on Commerce also urged the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to give charge of Ministry of Textile Industry to the Commerce Minister Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan as the country's top foreign exchange earning sector is not being represented properly.
Comments
Comments are closed.