Bureau Report
KARACHI : Chairman Businessmen Panel of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), Mian Anjum Nisar stressed the need for putting the economy on a high growth path, which must be sustainable over the long run, observing that the present
budget strategy would deliver growth but, at the same time, it also raised the risk of external account stress.
In a statement issued here, he while appreciating the positive growth in large-scale manufacturing for the last several months of current fiscal year, called for implementing reforms agenda to achieve 7% economic growth rate annually to create two million jobs per annum and reduce the public debt, which has already become unsustainable.
Mian Anjum Nisar said that the whole business community of the country is considering that for the first time, during recent past, a budget has been presented that is loaded with incentives for SMEs, agriculture and overall general industry along with potentially game-changing documentation measures. The government fiscal stance in the present budget is fairlyrealistic but its revenue target does not seem to be completely plausible, he added.
The Businessmen Panel thinks that the federal budget has now laid an excellent foundation for growth in the short run, but ignores very real risks on the external account front, which also needs attention.
The FPCCI ex-president and the Businessmen Panel Chairman said that the low GDP growth may result in pushing 20 million people below the poverty line as with low growth rate job opportunities are not being created. He added that Pakistan’s economy needs up to 7 percent growth rate to avoid falling of more people below the poverty line.
Mian Anjum Nisar said that the government is on the right track by focusing on removing the constraints to economic growth imposed by the balance of payments, as it has rightly identified exports, agriculture, ICT as the drivers of growth.
The problem is that these sectors have suffered policy neglect for years, or active anti-growth policies such as in the case of exports.
The reforms required to make these sectors growth drivers are not just structural in nature, but also involve very substantial institutional and governance elements, he said and added that these reforms would take a long period of consistent and coherent implementation before they deliver results.
