KARACHI: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (Unisame) has requested Federal Minister for Planning and Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal to change the theme of the “Turnaround Pakistan Conference” to be held on June 28, 2022 in Islamabad and rename it “Rapid Economic Recovery Conference” and deliberate on it seriously with implementation measures, a statement said on Tuesday.
Unisame President Zulfikar Thaver said that the main issue is the rapid economic recovery and high impact measures to be taken to overcome the economic turmoil and foreign exchange crisis being faced by the country, it added.
An export programme thorough a study of the items, which can be exported is the need of the hour, as Pakistan’s exports need to be enhanced.
It is indeed unfortunate that the Unisame’s suggestions for adding items to the export list were given a deaf ear.
Thaver said: “We need to talk about this rather than delve on the far-fetched matters. The high inflation coming in waves every single day has left all in doldrums and the underprivileged and the middle class are in a fix, as their survival has become difficult. At this point of time, we have to do firefighting and leave all future plans for the next year until the International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan is obtained and things stabilise.
The Unisame Council members advised the minister to do the needful on war footings and to ensure food stability on a priority basis by initiating more programmes and promoting dairy farming, livestock and fisheries to improve supply position of the basic food items.
Another important measure is to put solar energy solutions on a fast track basis to ensure that the alternative energy is fully exploited.
Last, but not the least is fuel for various purposes and for this the coal resources must be tapped without further loss of time.
The Unisame Council members also insisted on complete austerity in letter and spirit and also urged the government to declare emergency and propagate to save money, food, electricity and fuel. Every penny matters and all wastage needs to be controlled immediately.
