Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) has urged the government to utilise private sector expertise and experience to spur economic growth by expediting economic activities in the country. PIAF Chairman Malik Tahir Javaid said the Chambers of Commerce and Industry were the true representatives of the business community and the government should task them to prepare out-of-the-box solution to the challenges like low productivity and high unemployment rate.
"Since the private sector is engine of growth therefore the government should utilise it to put the economy back on rails with the needed speed." The PIAF Chairman said there was no second opinion about it that an economic growth of seven to eight percent was required for at least next 10 years to catch up the other economies in the region otherwise Pakistan would have little say in the global affairs for having a week economy. Javaid said the government would have to show its confidence in the private sector that had first-hand knowledge of running large enterprises and had the ability to turn loss-making entities into to profitable institutions.
Elaborating the point, the PIAF chairman said once the process of consultation with the private sector was expedited, the economy would start picking momentum as it was a proven tool that the local investments helped attract foreign investors. "If there is no local investment, no foreigner would be putting his money into any new venture in Pakistan." He said the government would also have to look into all ongoing national projects pertaining to provision of electricity and gas to overcome the losses caused by the political uncertainty in recent months. He expressed the optimism the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif would again divert his attention towards the economic issues with the same vigour with which he took his start after May 11 elections.
The PIAF chairman said the elections of all the trade bodies had already completed in the month of September therefore it would be wiser on the part of the government if it took new Chambers' leadership into confidence on economic challenges so that a solution could be evolved without any further delay.