Reforms That Could Not Be Implemented in 78 Years Cannot Happen Overnight in a Year or a Half, States Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb; Cites Right-Sizing of PASCO, Utility Stores, and PWD
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb has said that the unfulfilled structural economic and administrative reforms can not be realistically achieved in a period of one to one-and-a-half years.
The Finance Minister said right sizing had been done on the basis of recommendations of the cabinet’s State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) committee, which resulted in the closure and restructuring of the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASCO), the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) and the Public Works Department (PWD) on second day of a conference organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in Islamabad.
Muhammad Aurangzeb, the minister for finance, highlighted certain key aspects of his address to the SDPI conference.
SOE Committee Reforms and Privatization: Aurangzeb said the reports and reform programmes prepared by the previous Governor of the State Bank Dr. Ishrat Husain were very helpful in the deliberations of the committee. He reiterated that the government is keeping privatization of 26 state-owned enterprises as a key priority.
The minister noted the roots of the economic problems are deep, and urged that the needed changes cannot be made in a short period of time.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Jamil Ahmed, in his comments on the occasion, credited Dr. Ishrat Husain for putting economic reforms in Pakistan on a high pedestal, highlighting the need for equitable distribution of the fruits of the national economic development among all households.