The Pakistan Readymade Garments and Exporters Association, former president, Ijaz A Khokar on Thursday said there is a communication gap between government and business community as a result of which business sector is facing hardships.
Voicing concern over a proposal forwarded to the Prime Minister for providing R&D to only those making Rs 25 billion exports, he said that only one percent people associated with garment industry would benefit from it.
Khokar said that garments exports could be substantially increased if the government takes initiatives to develop training institutes, cloth development centres and garment parks in various cities of the county, particularly in Sialkot, because of its potential for value-added garment sector. He added the business community must be consulted before formulating any policy.
Khokar urged upon the government to ensure provision of factory buildings to the SMEs and vendors on rental basis in the proposed garment village besides well-developed physical infrastructure and other support services.
He said that radical steps of the government for the development of the proposed village would help mitigate the problems being confronted by the SMEs. "It will provide an opportunity for bringing out small and medium enterprises from crisis and enabling them to play a vital role in boosting the exports of garments," he added.
Khokar was confident that the establishment of garment parks would help increase the garment exports substantially. He said there was a great need to set up a garment training institute, textile laboratory and clothes development centre.
The establishment of a training institute in the area, he said would not only cater to the needs of the ready-made garment sector but also help produce the skilled labour. "The induction of trained and skilled labour in readymade sector will be supportive in improving the standard and quality of the products," he added.
Khokar said that according to a rough estimate more than 15,000 workers are engaged with readymade garment sector and earning their livelihood in a respectable way. He said "It is high time that the government take initiatives for interaction with the private sector on top priority basis to bridge the communication gap."