EDITORIAL: The government seems pretty serious about getting the most out of different sectors of the economy that could do with a bit of an overhaul and then stimulate manufacturing, employment, exports and therefore foreign exchange earnings. First, just as the economy was clawing its way out of the lockdown, it came up with the widely celebrated construction package that was meant to unlock the jobs market and keep daily wagers alive on the one hand, and get about 30-40 associated industries going as well on the other. Then, more recently, it expressed the desire to whip the pharmaceutical industry into shape in order to produce and export more medicines and help bolster national reserves. Now word is that the auto industry might have something to celebrate as the new auto policy is set to roll out next March and the ministry for industries has reportedly assured all stakeholders that the government of the day would finally incorporate their input into the process as well. That would no doubt be a welcome change since the industry claims to have suffered to no end under the weight of federal excise duty and additional customs duty, not to mention the devaluation of the rupee.
That the country's largest manufacturing and highest tax paying sector, which employs about three million people directly and indirectly, has little or no input in making of policies that determine the way it is able to function does seem a bit unfair. It is wrong enough for governments to over-burden the market place with their presence, yet the problem is made that much more agonizing when the arm of the government that does what free enterprises should be doing is as inefficient as the Pakistani bureaucracy. For it is not even a secret anymore the utter ineffectiveness of the political lot and repeated dictatorships have bloated the civil service into the de-facto policymaking institution in most areas. This trend has stood the test of time even though there is little or no empirical evidence to suggest that its interference has come even close to making anything it has touched any better than before. Hopefully, considering this government's claims of daring to right many of the wrongs of the past, it will give a very serious ear to auto industry representatives as it fine-tunes the sector's new governing policy.
And while it is at it, it ought also to think about what Pakistan Automotive Manufacturers Association (PAMA) executives recommended the other day. The focus of the Electric Vehicle Policy should be shifted to 'Make in Pakistan'. This matter has already been delayed for far too long. And why, after wasting all this time, must the government still consider the option of locally manufactured hybrid cars especially when it would be much easier, and make a lot more sense, to go directly into the production of electric cars? The fact that electric vehicles need only a handful of parts to make them, most of which are fortunately already produced in Pakistan and therefore there would be no need for lengthy deletion programmes, is enough to decide the matter and it makes no sense whatsoever to parade this issue through secretariats and ministries any longer. A government that is committed to turning the economy around, with increasing urgency considering that the second wave of the pandemic has already come to the country, must understand that delayed decisions are decisions nonetheless, and there will always be consequences for the precious time lost.
It's one thing to have smart ideas, but it's often quite another to have them implemented. And nothing good can come from any effort, no matter how sincere, if it is put in the wrong direction. If the government is really serious about reforming the economy sector by sector, then it must take the most important ideas from industries themselves, for they are in the business to succeed and would know better than anybody else what shouldn't be holding them down. The ruling party seems headed in the right direction. And surely it realises that a big part of its job, along with showing the path, is also removing stumbling blocks all along it. With almost half the electoral cycle already gone, it will not be long now before the success or failure of its initiatives becomes apparent.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020