President of Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) Fareed Mughis Sheikh has called for incentives, concessions and a special package for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and cottage industry for its revival as well as for the revival of economy.
He said in a statement the prime minister and the chief minister have promised to develop a cottage village in Multan but this commitment was not yet fulfilled .He further said that Multan is a head quarter of Cotton growing area and it must be declared a city of cotton. Fareed Mughis said the SME sector, which is playing a vital role in Pakistan's economy, should be given special incentives in the next budget. He said that the SME sector should also be taken on board to resolve ongoing energy crisis in the country and to extend interest free loans to SMEs. He claimed that energy crisis in Pakistan could be resolved in days and not in years if the country focuses on the domestic and commercial solar panels.
He called upon the government to implement its tax policies in true spirit in order to multiply its present level of revenue collection. He believed that without protecting the SME sector, the economy would not grow. "The SME sector is the backbone of the economy and provides largest number of employment in every field. The sector has the potential to contribute massive amount in the country's GDP. In a developing country like Pakistan, small and medium businesses play a vibrant part in enhancing the economy. The growing tendency of SME's structures will have direct impact on economy, as it manipulates large investment from all over the globe," he added.
Fareed said that a common man is reluctant to invest heavily in solar panels or wind turbines due to slow return. However, he added, the SME sector could easily resolve this issue if the government, by offering soft loans, provides solar panels or wind turbines to the consumers on easy instalments.
He complained that the SME sector was being neglected by the government since long, however now it has introduced many incentives for the cottage industry regarding tax waivers, but other factors still require attention, Sheikh said, adding that it is the prime responsibility of the government to facilitate and offer feasible environment to SME sectors by means of developing intellectual infrastructure, ie land should be allotted to the SMEs at concession and on instalments or funding to develop equity capital. "Notwithstanding the facts that once SME sector becomes steady in the country, it will easy to capture world business more effortlessly while the economy will be improved in the same manner," he said.