Poor tax administration, interruption in gas supply to industries, high cost of energy, slow implementation on industrial policy and above all lack of political consensus are major barriers to growth and job creation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which require urgent intervention by political leadership and relevant institutions.
For economic stability, growth and job creation all political parties must evolve consensus around issues of economy and signed an agreement on a 'charter of economy'. Experts express these views in a meeting titled 'National Network of Economic Think Tanks to Discuss Drivers of Future Economic Growth and Job Creation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa', organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here at Peshawar, the other day. Participants of the meeting also discuss reforms related to taxation, energy and cost of doing business in the province.
Senator Noman Wazir Khattak of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said that the government of PTI was committed to expedite reforms of tax policy and administration and willing to build consensus around Charter of Economy with all political parties.
He stressed upon Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to focus on development of mineral, tourism, hydel and IT sectors as key drivers of economic growth and job creation in the province. There is a need for the relevant institutions to work on a strategy that result in informal businesses becoming formal entities, he added.
Dr. Vaqar Ahmed, Joint Executive Director, SDPI said that it is important to have such public-private dialogues for providing inputs amid 12th five-year development plan which is currently under formulation and forthcoming federal budget due in June 2019. He said that SDPI has been trying since long for developing consensus among different political parties and stakeholders on key economic issues. He said that in the context of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), think tanks and the business community should study the expected patterns of demand of goods and services in China, which in turn would help the provincial government to put in place measures which provide impetus to non-traditional value-added exports from Pakistan.
Prof. Ibrahim of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) while commenting on the forthcoming National Finance Commission Award (NFC) said that the new award should be negotiated and completed as per administrative structure of provinces in context of post-18th amendment. He said that due to increased responsibilities on the provinces, new award should offer more resources from federal to provincial governments.
Harris Mufti, Vice President, Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industries (SCCI), Peshawar said that high cost of gas supply, poor tax administration and unskilled labour force are the major barriers to the growth of the industries in the province. He said that the provincial government should focus on producing high skilled labour force and improved tax administration.
Dr. Usman Ghani, Acting Director Institute of Management Sciences (IMS) said it is encouraging that Pakistani universities are now facilitating a culture of entrepreneurship due to which several university graduates are opening up their own innovative enterprises. He urges the government to formulate a national level start-up policy which in turn could reduce cost of doing business in Pakistan.
The representatives from government included Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority, Small and Medium Enterprise Development (SMEDA), National Incubation Authority, KP food safety and Halal Food Authority also participated in the meeting. It was a consensus among the participants of the meeting for strengthening coordination and cooperation for ease of doing business and promoting start-up culture in the province.