The newly-elected President of the Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) Mian Fareed Mughees A Sheikh spelt out his priorities for the coming year while talking to this scribe here on Sunday. He would focus on ongoing severe energy crisis, improving the exports, and take measures to save our economy from international recession, playing a role of bridge between the trading community and the policy-makers and improvement of infrastructure in the South Punjab in general and Multan in particular.
He said that he would serve the business community with the consent of seniors and he also announced the formation of an economic advisory committee comprising leading businessmen and former presidents of the MCCI for the guidance of the government to achieve the economic revival in the shortest possible time.
Calling for making the forms for income tax-returns simple and understandable for all and these must be published in Urdu language as per instructions of Supreme Court of Pakistan. Mian Fareed 'A Sheikh gave a clear message to the Federal Board of Revenue that the MCCI would not accept any policy framed without proper consultation with chambers in the country.
To increase production, he said, the business community would have to spend its energies in enhancing exports, particularly non-traditional items. He further said the Government should ensure uninterrupted power supply to the industry round the clock during the shut-down of natural gas.He said the simplification of taxes would also be on his priority list.
Mian Fareed Sheikh said the main objective of the MCCI was to promote trade and industry and all available resources would be utilised for the economic turnaround as the economic meltdown had started taking its heavy toll.
He said frequent market visits and a consistent liaison with the fellow businessmen would be the cornerstone of the working of the newly-elected office-bearers of the MCCI.