LCCI urges govt to focus on boosting economic activity

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) urged the government to focus on giving boost to economic activity in the country, as the GDP growth is the lowest in contrast to economic growth being witnessed by all the regional countries in the South Asia.

According to the LCCI President Irfan Qaiser Sheikh, the economic activity in the country during the year 2011 remained hostage to multiple internal and external pressures. It seems that the phenomenon would continue to prevail if private sector was not taken on board in policy making process. "Two neighbouring economies of India and China are booming like anything for the reason both the governments strengthened their economic fundamentals and policy framework," he added.

The LCCI President said that the worsening security conditions, an acute and unparalleled energy shortage, highest-ever electricity tariff, rampant corruption, low policy implementation rate, huge loss making State-owned Enterprises and ongoing political uncertainty are contributing to keep the activity at a halt. A well-tailored policy framework, designed in collaboration with private sector, is needed to bring the economy out of woods.

Irfan Qaiser Sheikh said that the business community understands that the issues at hand are of complex nature and requires some sort of out-of-box solutions. But at the same, it knows well that a little attention towards provision of uninterrupted supply of gas and electricity to the industry could pave way for much needed economic activity.

He said that the Lahore Chamber had repeatedly appealed to the government to introduce alternate means of power generation besides tapping huge coal reserves to get rid of costly thermal power but hardly any step was taken by the government. Secondly, the government should improve investment climate in the country by removing legal and regulatory hurdles that ultimately will rejuvenate economic activity in all sectors of the economy, he added.

Referring to the World Bank Report issued on Wednesday, the LCCI President pointed out that the economic meltdown being witnessed by Pakistan was in the making for the last many years but only due to lack of interest on the part of government the situation is fast heading towards the point of no return. He said that it was high time that the government should constitute a committee comprising members of Parliament, leading economists, Presidents of Chambers of Commerce and representatives of trade and industrial associations to identify hurdles coming in the way of economic activity in the country.