ISLAMABAD, JUNE 12 / DNA  / = Muhammad Ahmed Waheed, President Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has said that the government has presented a balanced budget in the current difficult situation and hoped that this budget would help in promoting business activities.

He said that the government has reduced the customs duty on 40 raw materials of various industries and reduced the customs duty on 90 tariff lines from 11% to 3% or zero% which is very encouraging. The government has also reduced regulatory duties on a number of industrial inputs that would hopefully reduce the production cost. He said this while giving his initial reaction on Federal Budget 2020-21.

Muhammad Ahmed Waheed said that the government has increased the minimum threshold of supplies by retailers for obtaining CNIC of the buyers from Rs.50,000to Rs.100,000 which is a positive move. He said that the government has also reduced the federal excise duty on cement from Rs.2 per kg to Rs.1.75 per kg which will reduce the price of cement and boost construction activities. He said that the government has proposed some amendments to simplify the withholding tax system which will hopefully benefit the business community. He said that the most welcome step was that despite the difficult financial situation, the government has not imposed any new tax in the budget.

The ICCI President said that Pakistan was in dire need of boosting exports at the moment to revive the troubled economy and therefore demanded that the government should announce better incentives for exports and information technology sectors in order to increase our exports and boost investment. He said that in view of the current difficult situation, the government has presented a better budget and hoped that government would include further suggestions of the business community to create more conducive business environment in the country.

ISLAMABAD, JUNE 12 / DNA / = In her response to the 2020 budget, PPP Parliamentary Leader in the Senate, Senator Sherry Rehman said, “This is not a national budget for a country facing a crisis. It squandered a huge opportunity to change  priorities, like diverting resources to health as percentage of GDP. Instead of that it cut money for the provinces who run the social spending.

As it stands this is not even a national budget. It’s a rolling accounting exercise led by the IMF. In four months they will be rolling the numbers again while firing people from jobs.

Sadly, like this Government, it is a set failures that Covid-19 has masked; Pakistan’s public finances were in free fall even before the COVID-19 outbreak, Pakistan’s economy was struggling to stay afloat with high interest rates, massive devaluations, crony capital sweet subsidies and falling exports. Revenue, which likes at the heart of every economy, never met their own targets, with one FBR head after another going through revolving doors. The costs of maintaining such a government will be felt by many future generations of Pakistanis and the damage they are doing, or done before covid is incalculable.”

She said, “The data released by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics shows that the year-on-year inflation in January 2019 was 5.6%. Whereas, by January 2020, the percentage had spiked to 14.6%. It is a shocking record of the highest inflation surge in the world. This happened way before the coronavirus pandemic hit us”.

“This debacle of no-holds-barred borrowing was also done before Covid-19.

Total debt and liabilities of the country rose by Rs2.597 trillion in the period running from July 2019 to March 2020. The total is now at 102.6% of gross domestic product (GDP). PTI government during the first 13 months of its tenure has added almost 35% of the total debt that Pakistan had accumulated in the previous 71 years of its independence,” she added.

Rehman questioned, “Why is PTI government taking credit for the decline in Current Account Deficit (CAD)? The massive decline in the international oil prices, a major import item for the country accounted for the dip in our CAD. PTI government must state the correct facts. During PPP’s time in power, crude oil price was $147/barrel, yet the situation was nowhere close to what it is now”.

She said, “As per the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, till last year there were 1,279 hospitals in the country. No new hospitals were added in the years 2018-2019.  It is worrying that that our health spending is still around 1.3% of the GDP despite WHO saying that countries should be spending at least 5% of their GDP on health. Given that the pandemic has shook our health infrastructure, we need to urgently revise our health budge. It is shocking how after devolution, the provinces which bear the load of the health budget were not even heard”.

“Climate change has as always been not given much importance even though Pakistan has been ranked globally in the top 10 countries most affected by climate change in the past 20 years owing to its geographical location. According to ADB, the socioeconomic costs of environmental degradation were considerable with climate adaptation needs ranging between $7 billion and $14 billion per year,” Rehman added.

The Senator said, “Even though the agriculture sector target grew by 2.67% against the target growth of 3.5%, this governments inaction had pushed millions of farm workers and small and subsistence farmers under poverty. It is also important to point out that the new locust invasion, which was not checked in time,  will cause a loss of Rs 600 billion to Pakistani economy which will be devastating for Pakistan as agriculture accounts for 20% of GDP and 65% of the population live and work in agricultural areas”.

Commenting on the disastrous revenue collection, she said, “FBR management is trying to justify its poor performance by hiding behind the Covid-19 situation. In the pre-Covid-19 situation, the FBR had sustained a shortfall of Rs693 billion. In April, the FBR provisionally collected Rs242.5 billion in taxes, down by Rs48 billion or 16.5% when compared with the collection in the same month of last year. This low revenue collection will have serious implications for the country’s debt”.

Senator Rehman concluded by saying, “The federation has been put at risk by this government’s shambolic governance. Their inability to see beyond party narrative and personal egos has destroyed any vestige of institutional reform. Pakistan is facing two shocks: one of Covid-19 and the other of Nazism”.

On June 11, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held talks with the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Suma Chakrabarti, via videoconference.

The Head of the state noted with deep satisfaction the high level of relations and fruitful cooperation of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development achieved in recent years.

Thanks to the joint implementation of the provisions outlined in the Bank’s Country Strategy and the roadmap, the EBRD is currently one of the key partners in promoting priority programs and projects aimed at ensuring sustainable socio-economic development in Uzbekistan.

The project portfolio is about $1.2 billion and covers all priority areas. At the same time, a third of all allocated funds are directed to support the private sector and entrepreneurship, including within the framework of efforts to minimize the negative consequences of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

In addition, the parties are considering new project proposals worth about $1 billion.The Bank’s experts also took an active part in elaboration of legislative acts and strategic initiatives in public-private partnership, developing the capital market, reforming the banking sector and other sectors of Uzbekistan’s economy.The EBRD has enhanced its representative office in Tashkent and opened an office in Andijan. The other, in Urgench, is expected to start activities next year.Speaking about the practical results of interaction, the President of Uzbekistan expressed sincere gratitude to Suma Chakrabarti for his active efforts and great personal contribution to strengthening mutual trust and developing effective cooperation.In turn, head of one of the leading international financial institutions, expressing deep appreciation for organizing the meeting in this format, noted the Bank’s strong commitment to the comprehensive support for the ongoing new course of reforms in Uzbekistan and regional policy in Central Asia, in particular by expanding the portfolio and financial-technical assistance.Suma Chakrabarti highly appreciated the comprehensive measures taken in the country to eliminate the consequences of the emergency in Syrdarya region and prevent the spread of the pandemic in the country.Issues of expanding the mutually beneficial cooperation were discussed in detail during the videoconference. Particular attention was paid to the EBRD’s participation in transformation of state-owned enterprises and the privatization of banks, the promotion of reforms in the energy sector and in the oil and gas industry, the effective utilization of allocated loans, and enhancement of business financing, including projects in the textile industry.An agreement was reached to continue intensive contacts and exchanges, including joint preparations for the Tashkent session of the Council of Foreign Investors and the EBRD Annual Meeting 2023 in Samarkand.

On June 12, 2020, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov will attend EU – Central Asia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, via videoconference, Uzbekistan MFA reports.

The Foreign Ministers will discuss a wide range of issues related to strengthening Central Asia – EU dialogue in various areas, including in the context of the pandemic.Special attention will be paid to practical measures taken by the parties to counteract the spread of coronavirus infection.