Economy faces manifold challenges, says Tarin

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin has said that lack of good governance, war on terror and decline in investments are the main challenges faced by national economy and strong political commitment is needed to steer the country out of the current economic crisis.

Talking to reporters after a seminar on Demographic transition: investing in the next generation here on Thursday, Mr Tarin said that revenue could be doubled if tax collections were increased, austerity measures introduced and state-owned enterprises were restructured. He said the cost of executing PSDP projects was double that of the projects this means to establish any infrastructure of Re1 the cost of doing it is Rs2. He said the government could not achieve economic stability without collective decision about self-reliance, instead of dependence on the begging bowl. Mr Tarin said some elements carrying a lot of clout preferred to initiate soft projects and persuade policy-makers to accept import-based solutions rather than adopt long-tem solutions for improving local production and generation. Answering questions about his resignation, Mr Tarin said that a conflict of interest had developed and he decided to quit as finance minister to raise funds for the Silk Bank. He holds around 21 per cent stakes in the bank and after the withdrawal of Muscat Bank the shareholders faced liquidity problems. I could have raised capital using the influence of finance minister s office, but that is not good governance, he said. I have always said that Pakistan needs good governance and it is my duty to follow it. Speaking at the seminar, Prof Gavin W. Jones of Singapore National University said that Pakistan needed to improve the standard of education and impart technical training to workforce to improve productivity. Prof Jones highlighted the need for increasing contributions of women in workforce as had been done by Far Eastern countries.