Inept ministers ruining economy: experts

LAHORE: The lack of expertise of the ministers and their nonexistent coordination with the industries is playing havoc with the economy of the country, experts said on Saturday.
They allege that the concerned ministers have been heading the ministries for more than 25 months but still they have no clue about the problems the country faces. In Pakistan, the businessmen face electric shortage that concerns ministry of water and power and gas shortage that is under the domain of ministry of petroleum and natural resources. The issues related to market access and tariff rationalization are under the domain of ministry of commerce. Moreover, the issue of overvaluing of currency is dealt by the ministry of finance.
“Among these four economic ministries, the most qualified for the job is the federal finance minister, a chartered accountant by profession,” said economist Asif Ali Shahid.
Though, some experts have reservations on a chartered accountant heading the ministry of finance, as he stifles growth to balance the government accounts, still he knows finance in and out, argues Shahid, adding that the other three ministers have never been associated with the job that they have been assigned to do.
He said IMF in its latest evaluation has predicted a growth rate of 4.5 percent for the fiscal year that has just started. The government has fixed a growth target of 5.5 percent for 2015-16. The finance minister is committed to increase the tax to GDP ratio to 15 percent but in past two years this ratio has remained below 10 percent.
In the fiscal year that ended on June 30, the tax to GDP ratio was only 9.4 percent. He has failed to increase the tax base and is trying to cover his failure by increasing taxes on the tax compliant sector.
Shahid said the finance minister is too busy in ‘other activities’ as to listen to the grievances of the businessmen and trade bodies that have been trying to get appointment from him. Businessmen including foreign investors operating in Pakistan have severely criticized various taxes imposed in the current budget but he has not been able to satisfy them or even meet them, he added.
Economist Faisal Qamar said the minister of water and power has never contacted the trade bodies or concerned businessmen on power issues. The performance of the ministry has constantly deteriorated from the level he took over in June 2013, adding that all consultations are done at the lower levels only. The line losses have increased, the receivables are still going up and the inefficiencies of power generation companies operating under his ministry have increased.
Moreover, the power minister said that his resignation would not resolve the power shortage issue.
Qamar said the competence of the petroleum minister was proved during the acute petrol crisis last fiscal, instead of accepting the responsibility, he suspended few officers to cool the public temper and then silently reinstated and transferred them. He rarely meets industrialists when they visit Islamabad and has not visited trade bodies just like the water and power minister.
He said the minister of commerce after two years in office has gained some insights about commerce. He realizes the rupee is overvalued but it is not under his domain. He realizes that preference should be given to industry for supply of power and energy as is practiced in Bangladesh and India, but he is helpless, the economist added.