‘Public-private partnership must for sustainability’

LAHORE: The government should ensure adequate representation of the private sector in all important governmental bodies to take the business community onboard at all economic fronts and to ensure their participation in policy formulation processes, a statement said on Saturday.

“Only public-private partnership can make a big breakthrough at the economic front. Therefore, the government should take the business community onboard at all economic matters and ensure its representation in the government departments, said Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) president Mian Nauman Kabir while talking to media.

The LCCI president urged the government to ensure adequate representation of the private sector in all important bodies whether it was the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA), Indus River System Authority (Irsa) or the exports promotion related divisions.

He said the business community should have representation in the parliament and all important bodies, adding that policies could be conducive for trade and industry only with participation of main stakeholders in the policy formulation process.

“Business community can be the most powerful economic force of the government for which they should be taken on board and treated as partner,” he remarked.

Mian Nauman Kabir said POL prices should not be an option to overcome the trade deficit or to bear the non-productive expenditure of the state, adding that the business community should be given 50 percent representation in Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) to control the hike in POL prices.

He stated that representation of the private sector in the public sector bodies would help promote knowledge-based economy, export promotion, increase in tax-to-GDP ratio besides overcome inefficiency of public-sector entities, brain-drain, shortage of skilled human resources, and low industrial production etc.

The LCCI president urged the government to conduct market research to find out new destinations for the Pakistani products. He said Pakistani missions abroad ‘should be duty bound’ to introduce Pakistani products to the foreign buyers and also ensure dissemination of trade related information so that Pakistan entrepreneurs could avail trade opportunities to the maximum.

“It is time to diversify our businesses and have to add new products to attract maximum foreign buyers for Pakistani products.”

He said trade and industry was the backbone of the economy as the government generates major chunk of its revenue from the sector, therefore, he emphasized, it could make a great contribution in turning Pakistan into one of the greatest nations in the world provided due facilitation and an enabling business atmosphere were ensured.

He also stressed the need for strengthening of institutional framework for being a prerequisite to economic stability, progress, and prosperity.