A parliamentary panel was informed on Friday that a reference has been forwarded to National Accountability Bureau (NAB) regarding stoppage of gas supply to Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) that brought its operations to a complete halt. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Industries met here on Friday in the chair of Asad Umar.
The committee has been pursuing the case since long to inquire the reasons for disconnecting gas supply to the PSM in June 2015. Asad Umar stated that the main problem with all the production units in the country is that the state is not fulfilling its responsibilities, adding similarly the investigation agencies of the country are actively protecting criminals and malpractices through legal means.
Rana Qasim Noon of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) accepted that it is the failure of this government that no decision has been made regarding PSM and other state-owned enterprises. The committee members expressed dissatisfaction over performance of the Ministry of Industries. Umar even said that Ministry of Industries is so ill-fated that the minister had stated in this committee that appointment of an MD in a department under him was made illegally.
The committee held briefing over the Furniture Company of Pakistan, ENAR Refinery and other state-owned enterprises. The management of aforesaid entities said that all the entities lack support from the government. Asad Umar directed Acting Secretary Industries Asad Hayaud Din to collect the issues faced by various entities under the Ministry of Industries and submit them to the committee.
The committee was informed about the status of display and training centres of Furniture Company of Pakistan. Responding to the queries by Sajida Begum and Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh, CEO of Furniture Company Alamgir Chaudhary said that the company had been ignored by the government in the past and there was not a single furniture expert in the company.
Alamgir said that out of the demand for Rs 303 million, the government had released only Rs 70 million, and due to lack of a complete board, its company status was suspended by the SECP. "The machines have been lying unused at these centres since 2013," Alamgir Chaudhary pointed out.
However, Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh said that there is a need to promote advanced technologies and teach modern marketing methods in the areas that have a tradition of furniture making. "Furniture making is a traditional business in Chiniot but nobody knows about the importance of these centres and usage of modern machines," Sheikh said.
Similarly, Sajida Begum said that these state-owned centres cannot compete with the private sector in making furniture. "But the better idea is to upgrade talent allowing them either to seek jobs locally or abroad as highly skilled workers become self employed," she added. The committee directed Alamgir Chaudhary to take MNAs on board and involve the local furniture makers with the activities of the centres.
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