ISLAMABAD - Pakistan People’s Party Vice-President Sherry Rehman yesterday said that Pakistan needed foreign investment and employment opportunities.
“Pakistan needs foreign investment and employment opportunities hence it is important for the BOI (Board of Investment) to play its part effectively. We have given them 90 days to finalise their rules and regulations as we cannot afford any more delays,” she said at a media interaction here. Senator Sherry Rehman said it was appalling that the BOI had not made its statutory rules and regulations for 20 years, and was locked in a stalemate over pay packages among other things.
“It is shocking that a premier federal agency is paralysed by so much mismanagement; it is no surprise that Foreign Direct Investment has slipped around 35% in 2020-21,” she added.
She said it was surprising that over the past 20 years, BOI had only had 8 board meetings. “Despite having the responsibility of piloting CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) projects, including the Special Economic Zones, they have failed to present the annual reports for last 3 years or resolve internal anomalies which is preventing their progress. This must be immediately rectified as transparency is the currency of investor confidence,” she said.
The lawmaker said the annual reports should be shared with the Committee but in this case only discussions of a draft for the FY16-17 have been mentioned.
“This is creating a backlog of reports that should be the last thing expected from a body that deals with financial matters of macroeconomic significance. Reports need to be finalised and released. If the federal government aims to increase the investment it must do away with such inefficiencies and lack of transparency,” the PPP leader said.
Meanwhile, PPP Member National Assembly Dr Mehreen Bhutto strongly reacted to the Presidential Ordinance on 37% increase in gas prices and electricity tariffs.
“Consumer will be crushed with over 37% increase in gas prices and presidential ordinance on electricity bills. There will be a storm of inflation,” she said in a statement yesterday.
Bhutto said the government had really caused a ‘tsunami of inflation’ with the coming of this government. “Such an increase in gas and electricity prices will have a detrimental effect on the economy. Presidential ordinance on electricity tariffs and petrol prices is tantamount to bombing the people,” she said.
Bhutto said the government had promised to give one crore jobs but has made the people jobless. “Unemployment rate is increasing day by day,” she maintained.