Sick economy needs urgent surgical intervention:IWCCI

Islamabad: Islamabad Women’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IWCCI) on Sunday said long march or change of government will not guarantee economic revival. It will need positive and unpopular decisions by a bold leadership.

Government and opposition are not concerned with the economic revival, they are pushing their own agendas which is leading country towards a debt repayment default, said President IWCCI Farida Rashid while speaking to businesswomen.

The PPP-led government has not done anything to prevent the economic meltdown while their activities have bled the economy white, she said.

Other political parties have yet to suggest a concrete framework of policies to improve overall growth rate and to ensure that all regions and segments of society reap the fruits of a booming economy, she added.

She said that the incumbent government has utilised all energies to promote elite which has disappointed masses, frustrated business community and brought economy to the deathbed.

Rulers intentionally avoided economic reforms despite insistence of landers, friendly countries and business community while it relied on false figures, tall claims and flowery statements which amount to lying to itself,

Crises stemmed out of mismanagement have snatched jobs from millions while it compromised the ability of tens of millions of wage earners to provide sustenance to their families, she said.

Farida Rashid said that government left no opportunity to promote the interests of rural and urban high class on the cost of poor that resulted in a weaker country with fractured social fabric.

The welfare of landed nobility remained main focus of the government dominated by the countryside politicians which resulted in many problems but hiked the price of land by 100 per cent minimum in the villages.

Prosperity of the urban population and business community remained confined to the statements by the government functionaries which has frustrated the business community to an extent that they started shifting units and funds overseas.

Rejecting the claim that ruling party was too busy defending democracy to focus on putting economy on rails, she said that how come rulers failed in all unenthusiastic attempts to provide relief to masses but remained successful in all their initiatives to support the mighty and wealthy.

Farida Rashid said that employment scene remained chaotic in the job market while all people experienced were political gimmicks on the part of federal or provincial governments which in turn triggered street crimes, terrorism and multiplied number of street children.

All we saw was increased food and energy insecurity, lack of shelter and senitation, sickness, and desperation which gave rise to serious crimes like violence, lawlessness, theft, robberies, and fraud, she observed.

Lack of electricity and gas and lawlessness have forced many industries to either shut down or operate below capacity, exports are stagnating while imports rising, exchange rate and reserves are depreciating and the balance of payments situation can invite external debt default, she said.

Farida Rashid said that all public sector enterprises are being looted, inter-agency debt on the rise, the rate of investment and savings touching lowest level while reckless borrowings continue.

SBP is busy printing notes to finance the government’s wasteful expenditures which amount to support efforts to drive country towards bankruptcy and destruction, she noted.

She said that in absence of any land reforms, absentee landowners continue to take away large share of untaxed income to spend it on lavish living leaving poor farmers high and dry.

Terming all the statistics as window-dressing and an effort to hide mismanagement, corruption and exploitation, Farida Rashid said that the economy has been brought to the brink of bankruptcy while the government and opposition are yet to think seriously about its revival knowing that economy is very sick and it will die without serious intervention.