NWFP: Industries closing down amid insurgency, power outages

[Naveed Yaseen]

By Qaiser Khan Afridi

The poor law and order situation coupled with gas and electricity loadshedding have paralysed the economy of the Frontier province.

Economic experts are of the view that if the current situation continues for the next six months, around 50 per cent units in Hayatabad Industrial Estate would close down or shift to other parts of the country, leaving three million workers unemployed.

The inability of the provincial government to control law and order, particularly the rise in kidnappings for ransom, plus the shrinking writ of security forces have emboldened the criminals.

Talking to The News, the President of Industrialists Association Peshawar, Nauman Wazir, while painting a bleak picture of the NWFP economy, lashed out at the provincial government as well as utility providers for their failure to provide friendly environment to the business community.

“Owing to the existing law and order situation, power and gas crisis, almost 50 per cent offices of industrial units have been shifted either to the Cantonment areas or Islamabad from Hayatabad Industrial Estate, which borders the tribal agency,” Nauman Wazir said.

More than half of the industrial units would shut down in the next six months rendering three million workers unemployed if the present law and order situation and power outages continue, he said.

The growing unemployment would further radicalise the society, which would put the existence of the province at stake. “The industrialists are spending millions of rupees for the provision of security for their own safety while the government has turned a blind eye to the problems being faced by the people particularly the business community,” he lamented.

“Forget about the Taliban, the government can at least apprehend the criminals, which are operating under the nose of the security forces,” the representative of the industrialists asserted.

Wazir suggested the provincial government to get the province declared as war-affected zone and lay stress on the federal government to announce special package as incentives for the industrialists.

Pouring scorn over the provincial government plans to lure investors in the Frontier province, he said it was not a time to attract investors rather retaining the existing investors.

Among 186 industrial units operating in Hayatabad Industrial Estate, 70 have closed down due to the mentioned problems and the remaining would follow suit if the government did not take sincere steps.

Commenting on the national economy, the President of Industrialists Association Peshawar suggested the central government to focus on growth of manufacturing sector.

“The government should give top priority to growth for which it should use economic tools and strengthen organisations as it will bear fruit in the long-run,” he asserted.

Nauman Wazir said the government should take sincere and serious steps for economic revival, as on one hand, manufacturing growth was falling while on the other hand inflation was high, making life miserable for people in general and the business community in particular.

He said the economic policy adopted in the wake of the global financial crisis had affected the growth of large-scale manufacturing sector, as the focus was on inflation.

In the small and medium enterprises sector, which holds 80 per cent of the country’s business, he said that manufacturing growth had registered a sharp decline during the last nine months.

Similarly, he said growth in the large-scale manufacturing sector was more important and it should be given priority rather than reducing inflation.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=176191