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| Country needs $5 bn immediately: Tareen |
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Thursday, October 30, 2008
ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance Shaukat Tareen informed the Senate during a briefing on Wednesday on the economic situation that the country immediately needs $5 billion to sustain at its present position.
“We need this amount within next 15 to 20 days and if Friends of Pakistan or other IFIs do not ensure us this amount, we shall have to go to IMF, but on our own terms, which we have already worked out,” he said, adding: “If our plan will be acceptable to IMF, we shall discuss with them to avail the facility.”
Tareen, however, negated the notion that our economy would suffer after availing the IMF facility. He urged for taking immediate measures for economic stability and said, “We need to stand on our feet. We cannot afford to default. Wherever we can go and whatever we can get, we have to fulfil our financial obligations.”
He said institutionally, there is no planning in the country and whatever planning we had it was done in a vacuum and without foundations. “We need executional framework on national level,” he asserted.
Tareen pointed out that no emphasis was laid on production and improving agriculture on which Pakistan’s economy was based. “This omission resulted in increased imports, which put extra burden on reserves. Inflow of foreign currency dropped and due to lack of control on high energy and food bills, the economy continued to suffer,” he analysed.
Tareen underlined the need to strengthen macro economic indicators to control inflation and ensure sustainable growth. These targets can be achieved through increasing tax on GDP ratio to 15 per cent from the existing 10.5 per cent in the next five to seven years.
“We cannot show seven to eight per cent growth with existing tax volume. The whole nation has a role to play here as we also need to make tax machinery effective,” Tareen said. He said: “We have a comprehensive planning to stand on our feet during next two years.”
Tareen mentioned to cut down non-development expenditures like vehicles and petrol usage and foreign visits, involving the private sector in executing public sector development program.
Shaukat Tareen said future policies would be framed by experts and not by those sitting in drawing rooms. He said “I would not like the IMF programme but we are sitting on a monster trade deficit of $20 billion and current account deficit of $1.5 billion.”
He said: “We need to consolidate and upgrade management to end corruption as we had been having failed managers in the past.”At present pure inflation is 17.3 per cent, reserves are declining every week and as long as the confidence of people is not restored and rupee value is stabilised, money would not fly back to the country.
He said the government is considering Iran’s offer to provide oil on deferred payment. But Iran’s oil is heavy crude and we have only one heavy crude refinery in our country. He also referred to provision of $500 million by ADB and $1.4 billion by World Bank and the Chinese offer for investment. He said if China offers to set up bank in Pakistan, then why not to offer them to sell some block of a bank to support our economy.
About decrease in power tariff, he said, there is no 40 per cent decrease; the decision has been taken to provide immediate relief to consumers. “The issue would be resolved as a whole within a week or so. We decided to get 60 per cent this time and recover the remaining amount gradually.”
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