'Rs 3,000 monthly allowance for the poor is not enough'

Secretary-General (Federal) of the Businessmen Panel for FPCCI, Ahmad Jawad, has said that the package announced by the prime minister is appropriate to some extent, but it's not sufficient to cope with the prevailing situation. "We should expect the government to give maximum relief to the lower middle class and poor segment of society," he said.
The Rs 3,000 monthly allowance for the poor was not enough under the current rate of inflation. The cut in POL prices of Rs 15 per litre was unjustified. It should be at least Rs 30 per litre in view of the emergency. The government could later increase POL prices for adjustment. It's time to save our domestic economy.
Similarly the interest rate should be brought down to 4 percent immediately to facilitate the economy. The decline of 1.5 percent in interest rate is simply waste by the monetary policy committee of SBP. However Rs 100 billion refund to the export sector was a welcome step so that the workers of this sector could be facilitated to some extent.
He said government must act wisely in the ongoing situation under COVID-19 and immediately release 100 billion rupee package to cater to the needs of the poor segment of society so that they could get basic necessities while the lockdown continued.
He warned of further slowdown in the economic growth of Pakistan due to the coronavirus, and under these circumstances, the government should immediately reduce the interest rate to a single digit level to stimulate economic activities.
Jawad said that the coronavirus emergency accorded the government a chance to organize the unorganized sectors. "The downturn of the economy gives space to the government to improve the institutions as well as rationalize the tax rates and other numerous vital interventions which will have longer term positive impacts on the economy," he added. "It's the responsibility of the state to behave like a head of the family," he said.