The LCCI Founders Group on Saturday gave a seven points formula to the government to turn the forthcoming budget into a business-friendly document which would pave the way for the economic revival of the country within shortest possible time. Chairman Founders Group, Mian Tajammal Hussain while speaking at the inauguration of new Founders Office said that if the suggestions are implemented in letter and spirit, the country would not be needing any sort of foreign assistance.
LCCI former Presidents including Syed Mohsin Raza Bukhari, Iftikhar Ali Malik, Salahuddin Ahmad Sahaf, Tariq Hameed, Mian Mohammad Ashraf, Ilyas M. Chaudhry, Sheikh Mohammad Asif, Mian Misbah-ur-Rehman, Shahid Hassan Sheikh and LCCI sitting President Shahzad Ali Malik also spoke on the occasion.
Mian Tajammal said that economically the country was passing through a very difficult time while the political uncertainty has gripped the entire nation. He said the business community is ready to do everything to make the country a hub of business and economic activities. The chairman founders group said that after a number of meetings, the founders group has reached the conclusion that there are seven areas that need immediate attention of the policymakers.
It is a pity that the country has an acute shortage of electricity that has paralysed production but at the same time it is the duty of the government to develop alternate means of electricity generation. If some measures would have taken three years ago, when the present regime assumed the office, the situation would have been different today, he added.
The government should take immediate measures to eliminate circular debt so that the gap between demand and supply could be curtailed. Secondly, line losses and power theft should be controlled. Above all, the government should focus on construction of water reservoirs. Amongst the alternate sources of energy biomass shows tremendous potential. The total capacity in biomass is 22800 MW in Pakistan to which little technical training is required bring this resource in use. Alternate Energy Board must concentrate on it to establish these units in villages.
Coal, hydropower and biomass can produce energy at a flat rate of less than Rs 5 per unit for next twenty years, helping manufacturing industry to grow unabated with no taxation on inputs and availability of technically better quality workforce. He suggested that the state should withdraw all profiteering and taxation from energy sector.
Elaborating his point, Mian Tajammal said that with the single digit markup, the government actually would be expediting the process of industrialisation in the country resultantly there would be more jobs for the unemployed youth while inflation would also come down with the improvement of supply chain of consumer goods.
About fast increasing oil prices in the international market, Mian Tajammal Hussain said that the government should immediately cut duties and taxes on it. For bringing down the taxes and duties on oil products, the government would have to curtail its non-development expenditures but it was a common phenomenon that untoward economic situations are dealt through special measures.
He also endorsed the LCCI demand for bringing down the rate of general sales tax to 12 percent as the high rate of GST in vogue in the country is discouraging the people from coming into the tax net. All local chambers could help the state in recovering and documenting economy so that only direct taxes could be levied and indirect taxation could be removed. These should be supported by the Regional Tax Advisory Committees. He was of the view that agriculture income must be taxed while Value Added Tax and Sales Tax are counter-productive, he said.
The government must at least double its health budget. The qualified medical students be provided with land, infrastructure and interest free loans for constructing mini-hospitals in rural areas which would reduce burden on urban health facilities.
By 2030, the literacy rate in Pakistan is likely to reach 75 percent thus the focus should be on general, technical education and vocational training in rural areas. The technical training needed to be transformed through Chinese support in areas such as mining, power generation and processed food industries. Higher education must be more technical and instead of sending our students abroad and spending our foreign exchange on foreign education, local facilities in technical institutes must be established. With more than 10 trillion dollars worth of natural resources Pakistan must concentrate on developing local technology for excavation of minerals such as copper, coal, iron, and gold, for at least two decades. Transfer of technology from China in mining must take place at rapid pace, he said. He stressed the need for improving governance and law and order situation to encourage foreign investment.