Dr Ayesha vows to come up with enabling economic policy
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LAHORE:Provincial Finance Minister Dr Ayesha Ghous Pasha on Wednesday said the Punjab government firmly believed in a consensus economic agenda, and had engaged all stakeholders including private sector and academia to come up with an enabling economic policy for exports and manufacturers.
She said, their approach was that regardless of who was coming in power, the economic policy must be responding to real needs and aspirations of all the stakeholders.
The Minister expressed these views while addressing a symposium "State of the economy and future priorities", held jointly by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Pakistan and Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), here.
She said the government also believed that an economic policy should be export-oriented, led by private sector and in
alliance with sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Dr Ayesha said, "We must acknowledge that in Pakistan, we have always been good in coming up with policies but lack
implementation. Therefore, we are focusing on developing mechanisms for proper and better implementation on policies."
She said high cost of energy and non-enabling tax mechanisms had been major constraints for investors and manufacturers and with the help of consultation with stakeholders, the government was seriously working on removing all these impediments and the forthcoming provincial budget would be reflective of this approach.
Dr Ayesha said, the investment that took place in Punjab was result of their growth rate policy whereas in Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, it was based on development funds that province received for its particular situation.
The symposium was clubbed with the launch of two books related to Pakistan's national economy including "Growth and inequality in Pakistan" by eminent economist Dr Hafiz A. Pasha and "Pakistan's Agenda for economic reforms" by Dr Waqar Ahmed.
The excerpts from both the books were shared with the participants comprising leading economists, representatives from trade and business communities and media highlighting diverse aspects and issues pertaining to state of economy with federal as well as provincial lenses. APP/AFP
