LAHORE:The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has started consultations to prepare an economic policy framework to help the government overcome grave challenges it is facing currently.
In this regard, LCCI President Kashif Anwar met a team of economists, led by Ali Salman, Managing Trustee, Policy Research Institute of Market Economy, on Friday and had a marathon discussion with them.
During the course of discussion, it was decided that a document would be prepared for the government to guide it about resolving the economic issues. Ali Salman gave a detailed briefing to the LCCI president regarding economic situation and said that the government should bring down rate of taxes to increase revenue besides lowering the expenditures.
The LCCI president said that the current state of the economy required comprehensive solutions because the country was swiftly moving toward scarcity of almost everything essential for life. Due to continued repercussions from shocks like Covid-19 and the Ukraine war, Pakistan is one of the countries that are suffering the most. Pakistan’s frail economy has suffered more than $30 billion in losses as a result of the floods devastation.
All state stakeholders, political parties, entrepreneurs and citizens, must come together at this time to prevent the crisis from getting out of control and should sign a charter of economy.
LCCI President Kashif Anwar said that the major issue of shortage of supplies, whether industrial or consumer items, is caused because of shortage of raw materials, and shortage always triggers inflation. The current pace of inflation is too high for our economy to handle, he added.
He said due to the non-opening of letters of credit (LCs), the containers with raw materials and machinery were stuck at ports and incurring rising detention costs. “We are aware that the country is short on foreign currency, and international donors like the IMF programmes are running behind schedule,” said Kashif Anwar. “However, we must think creatively and ask our own citizens to support the economy,” he added. “To do this, we must declare an amnesty, which will have a very positive impact,” he suggested.