Governor Sindh, Dr Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan has emphasised the need that all political parties should sit together and devise a strategy to bring the country out of the economic crises. Speaking at the annual dinner of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (Kati), Ebad said that joint efforts are the only solution to bring the country out of the present turmoil.
He said that the government is facing a number of challenges including terrorism and suicidal attacks, adding that it alone can not face these. He stressed upon the political parties and general public to support government's efforts to overcome the challenges.
He assured that the government is giving top priority to the industry and making efforts to provide them maximum facilities while remaining under its limited resources. Referring to the recent increase in oil prices, the governor said MQM has already rejected the increase in oil prices as well as increase in prices in the past, as it is a huge burden on the shoulder of the poor people.
Regarding the economic indicators, he said that the state of economy is well and indicators such as foreign exchange reserves and exports are showing that the condition is not as bad as it is being envisaged. Ebad pointed out that the industry in Karachi has been exempted from power load shedding, while the issue of gas shortage has also been resolved with the co-operation of Karachi Electric Supply Company and Sui Southern Gas Company management. He noted that Kati, through its efforts for the betterment of trade and industry, has become a distinctive trade and industrial body.
Speaking on the occasion, Sindh Minister for Industries and Commerce, Rauf Siddiqui said that approval has been granted for construction of a flyover at Habib Bank Chowrangi at a cost of rupees 500 million. He hoped the construction of flyover will commence soon. He further said that the government is also initiating patchwork on all the roads in Site industrial area at a cost of Rs 50 million. He also said that that federal government is likely to release the stuck up Rs one billion for infrastructure development in all industrial estates within next 15 days.
President Indo Pak Chamber of Commerce and Industry and a leader of the business community, S M Muneer expressed his disappointment over the increase in oil prices, saying the economy is already on the verge of collapse. He feared that the increase would be extremely detrimental for the national economy and break the backbone of general masses.
He further said that these anti-people decisions would result in unrest among the people. He pointed out that a single day's strike in Pakistan causes revenue loss of rupees five billion to the national exchequer and government should realise this factor. Instead of increasing POL and utilities prices, it should try to avoid greater losses in the shape of strikes, industry shutdowns and export shipment failures, he maintained.
He demanded the government to hand-over the management of 'loss making' public organisations such as PIA, Railways, Pakistan Steel, Pepco, etc to some honest and professional stakeholders in the private sector in order to bring them out of the red and save Rs 500 billion subsidies given to these organisations annually.
Chairman Kati, Syed Johar Ali Qandhari in his welcome address pointed out the grim situation of the economy and asked the governor to give priority to overcome the ongoing crisis of utilities shortage such as power load-shedding, water and gas shortage in the country's industrial and commercial hub - Karachi. "Government would have to address the economy on first priority as the industries are closing down, exports declining, raw materials are getting expensive frequently and the Pak rupee has been devalued by 40 percent in the last three years", he remarked.
Outgoing Chairman Kati, Razzak Hashim Paracha said that Pakistan's industry is in a really bad shape and government should act positively to save the industrial base to avoid mass scale unemployment in the country. Former Chairman, Mian Zahid Husain appreciated that Karachi's industries have been exempted from load shedding only due to the efforts of the Governor of Sindh.