Govt delayed privatization to win elections: PEW
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The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Sunday said government has stopped privatization programme to win elections are it cannot afford tough decisions at this juncture.
The decision is not only violation of the agreement with the IMF but it is also discouraging investors while keeping much-needed local and foreign investment away.
Government should have preferd to sell bleeding companies wasting trillions annually before disposing profitable ones to please allies, said Dr. Murtaza Mughal, President PEW.
Talking to Tabassum Anwar, Chairperson IWCCI’s standing committee on trade and industry, he said that foreign investment has already dwindled while reforms in the bleeding enterprises and appointing professional management remained unimplemented.
Dr. Murtaza Mughal said that government must tackle issues hurting sentiments of investors to make privatization a success while money used to keep state-run companies alive should be spent on social uplift.
Transparent privitization can help the country achieve results without repeating history of Steel Mills which stalled whole process of asset sale for long.
At the occasion, Tabassum Anwar said that privatization is part of new global economic order to strip poor nations of its assets.
The wastage of national resources must be plugged otherwise the country will lose many companies while remaining unable to break the begging bowl, she warned.
Pakistan will never need to sell companies or carry begging bowl if rural elite start paying taxes, said Anwar.
