Muhammad Omar
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Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. — AFP/File
KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to declare ‘2015 the year of economic revival’.
The newly elected president of the apex body, Mian Muhammad Idrees, on Friday shared this demand during his first media briefing.
He asked the government to fix GDP growth target at 7 per cent and urged the economic planners to take the business community on board.
“When 92pc of businesses are managed by the private sector they should have a say in framing economic policies too,” he said.
He said that he would take all chambers and trade associations on board before approaching the government.
He urged the government to broaden tax base and regretted that taxpayers were not being getting due recognition from the tax collecting machinery.
“Successive governments for the last 20 to 25 years were talking about bringing improvement in energy sector but even today Wapda is allowed to mismanage the sector. In India, power generation and distribution in Mahrashtra is run by private sector,” he said.
He added that some 50 departments which should be run by private sector are working under the public sector.
The inefficiency of public sector is costing the nation dearly and as a result of this around 40pc of existing production capacity is under-utilised, he said.
The fall in POL prices, he said, should have benefited the masses, but the government has imposed 5pc additional sales tax over and above 17pc GST. He urged the government to immediately privatise DISCOs and other public sector entities suffering losses.
Speaking on the occasion, S.M. Muneer, chief executive Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, said a high powered committee has been formed to probe into financial irregularities committed during past five years in FPCCI.
Published in Dawn, January 3rd, 2015
