PESHAWAR:KP Caretaker Minister for Industries, Commerce, Technical Education, and Revenue, Mohammad Adnan Jalil has said that the issue of the provision of a grant of Rs.100 million for the construction of a building for the FPCCI Regional Office would be presented in the upcoming meeting of the provincial cabinet.
He was addressing a pre-budget consultative meeting of the Business Advisory Committee held under the auspices of KP Finance Department here on Friday. Secretary Finance, Mohammad Ayaz presided over the consultative meeting. Besides, the Caretaker Minister Mohammad Adnan Jalil and officers of the Finance Department, the representatives of other departments, the Coordinator Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), Sartaj Ahmad Khan, and a large number of businessmen and government officials attended the meeting.
Speaking on the occasion, the Coordinator FPCCI, Sartaj Ahmad Khan said that presently the whole country including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is facing a financial crisis and even during this critical juncture, the business community is playing a maximum role in strengthening the national economy.
He proposed the allocation of at least a 20% share of the upcoming budget for economic stability in the province to stabilize the province financially. He said that KP has 22 notified border stations, but only four of them are operational and complained about the lack of facilities at these border stations.
The FPCCI coordinator said that work in four potential sectors including hydel, mineral, cross-border trade and tourism is essential for the uplift of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and called for the allocation of maximum funds for the development of these sectors in the upcoming provincial budget.
He also proposed the initiation of one-window operations in public sector organizations to facilitate the business community. He said that in the last budget, the government had promised the provision of land for chambers, but it could be implemented and called for the provision of land for all chambers.
In response to the proposals of FPCCI office bearers, the KP Caretaker Minister said that the province has the potential of generating 45000-megawatt electricity and in this connection, consultation had also been held with Advisor on Energy, Himayatullah Khan.
Addressing the meeting, Secretary Finance Mohammad Ayaz said that they agreed with all recommendations of the business community and that their input would be included in the upcoming budget.
During the meeting, it was also decided to organize a joint seminar of the business community, finance department, and other public and private sector stakeholders regarding budget making, wherein all budget-related proposals would be discussed.