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Businessmen urged to get ready for World Trade Organisation challenges
LAHORE (September 19 2002) : Punjab Finance Minister Tariq Hameed has called upon the industrialists and business community to tighten their belts and prepare themselves to face the challenges of post World Trade Organisation (WTO) scenario.
He was speaking at the inaugural session of a seminar "productivity enhancement through public-private sector linkage" jointly organised by the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Management and Professional Development Department Punjab and National Productivity Organisation (NPO) here on Wednesday.
Replying to various points raised by LCCI Chief Dr Khalid Javed Chaudhry, in his address of welcome, Tariq Hameed said that the industrial units, set up in Pakistan over the years, were large enough to cater the needs of local market only. That is why, their cost of production is high and they cannot produce more to export. He also asked the business community that the days of concessions were over.
Talking about the subject of the seminar, he said that in the present economic scenario public-private partnership has become crucial to the delivery of priority infrastructure projects and to the provision of quality public services. Delivering of services and information to the citizens within the required time frame and the achievement of value for money for the taxpayer have become integral elements of any government's strategy of maintaining competitiveness and sustaining strong economic growth and social progress over the long term.
In his opinion, the objectives of public-private partnership include speedy, efficient and cost-effective delivery of projects, value for money for the taxpayer, efficiencies from integrating design and construction of public infrastructure with financing, operation and maintenance, upgrading, creation of added value through synergies between public authorities and private sector companies, in particular, through the integration and cross transfer of public and private sector skills, knowledge and expertise.
He said that the other objectives are alleviation of capacity constraints and bottlenecks in the economy through higher productivity of labour and capital resources in the delivery of projects, competition and greater capacity, accountability for the provision and delivery of quality public services, innovation and diversity in the provision of public services and effective utilisation of state assets to the benefit of all users of public services.
Nevertheless, the minister underlined the need for a broad consensus in relation to the scope of public-private partnership, the process through which public-private partnership projects will be developed and the benefits we expect to realise by adopting the public private partnership approach.
He hoped that the seminar will help in advancing towards shared objective of good governance and economic development through public private partnerships.
The first session was also addressed by LCCI Chief Dr Khalid Javed Chaudhry and Dr Khawaja Amjad Saeed.
Courtesy Business Recorder
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Pakissan.com;
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