Chairman of National Business Group Pakistan, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum, and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister, Mian Zahid Hussain said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s determination to sell all government institutions except strategic institutions is laudable.
The Prime Minister should ensure that a minimum number of white elephants are kept in the name of strategic institutions and that the proceeds from the sale of institutions are spent for debt relief and the welfare of the people.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that the government should not be involved in business because everyone knows the worst consequences when the government steps into the business.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that selling the failed government institutions is essential. Still, it is also important to keep a close watch on private institutions to protect the rights of the people because the black sheep in the private sector keep starting crises for profit.
The business leader said that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif while addressing the meeting of the Ministry of Privatization and Privatization Commission, and that the government’s job is not to do business but to improve the investment environment and provide facilities.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister clarified that all government institutions, whether profitable or loss-making, will be privatized. He has also directed all the federal ministries to fully cooperate with the Privatization Commission and take all necessary steps.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that privatization will save almost 1200 billion rupees annually and that private institutions will provide better facilities for the public.
Transparency needs to be prioritized in privatization, while the sale of PIA and steel mills should be preferred.
Mian Zahid Hussain further said that, in addition to selling government institutions, the process of eliminating unnecessary departments should also be started.