The decision of NWFP Governor Iftikhar Husain Shah to constitute 'Tribal Chamber of Commerce & Industry' (TCCI) has created confusion among the business community of Peshawar whose members say that the new body would serve no purpose.
The idea of constituting the trade body for the tribals was floated last month by the Governor while addressing a workshop on industrialisation in the Federally Administered Tribal Area (Fata) which is ruled directly by the federal government, through Governor as representative in the province.
For running the affairs of the seven tribal agencies and frontier regions of the Fata, the Governor has also established his own Secretariat. The secretariat was under fire from the MMA government in the province as running of a parallel government in the province.
Talking to Business Recorder, Ghulam Sarwar Khan Mohmand, a former president of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (SCCI) who also hails from tribal area and is a prominent member of the business community, said that the formation of trade chamber requires business activities and strong industrial base which both have no presence in any part of the Fata.
He said that most of the businessmen hailing from Fata are members of the Sarhad, Mardan, Kohat or Dera chambers and there was no need to constitute a special separate entity for them.
He said that although Mohmand and Khyber agencies are rich in marble and precious stones, but such few units are not sufficient for the formation of a full-fledge chamber.
Another businessman was of the view that the formation of such body would also require the constitution of chamber at the level of every tribal agency which, he said, "is a difficult task" in the absence of strong trade associations. Furthermore, he said, the distance of hundreds of kilometres from Bajaur to South Waziristan and the maintenance of co-ordination would be impossible.
He said that the businessmen of the tribal areas would have to get membership of the nearby chamber. In this connection, he suggested that businessmen of Waziristan are not getting membership of Dera Chamber of Commerce and Kurram and Orakzai people of the Kohat Chamber.
Another businessmen and member of the Sarhad Chamber who also hails from the tribal area said that the in the absence of a chamber in every tribal agency the constitution of TCCI would be a fruitless attempt.
Similarly, he said, selection of the venue for the head office would be another gigantic task. He said that the businessmen from tribal areas are residing in Peshawar and Mardan and there was no need to constitute separate chamber for them.
However, in this connection, Business Recorder contacted Ghulam Ali, who had floated the idea for the establishment of All Tribal Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
He fully defended the decision of the Governor, saying that it was a longstanding demand of the business community of the tribal belt.
He said that Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata) have more than 3000 large and small industrial units and they also confront some problems.
He said that industrial units in these areas are exempted of the income and general sales tax but the chambers of the settled areas demand extension of the taxes to the areas.
Ghulam Ali, who is also member of Sarhad Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said that the business community of the tribal and settled areas is engaged in a tussle since long. He said that the industries of the tribal areas have their own problems.
He said that in a period of less than one month 230 businessmen of the tribal areas have got the membership of the new chamber.
He said that the Governor has given a plot in Governor's Fata secretariat to establish its head office in Peshawar. He said that chambers in seven tribal areas would be established with the passage of time.