Members of the local business community were glued to the TV screens as they hoped for a breakthrough in the national budget 2011-2012 which ended up in frustration as the long awaited budget speech of Federal Finance Minister was devoid of any incentive for the business sector or the consumers.
The Power Looms Association of Faisalabad was first to issue its condemnation of the budget speech as their spokesman Salamat Ali termed the speech it a vain exercise lacking objectivity. “More than 10,000 power loom units already been closed in the district due to the energy crisis and more closures very likely in the coming months”, he said.
Anjuman Tajiran City Executive Committee Member Mahmood Alam says that his organisation is quite disappointed with the budget speech as they were hopeful of a relief package. “The budget has not addressed the problems of industrial sector which is dying a slow death”, he remarked. Naveed Malik, a textile exporter, stated that the budget speech is silent on two desperate problems faced by the industrial sector; the energy crisis and a cruel mark up rate notched up as high as 18 percent.
Adnan Rasool Chaudhary, a packaging factory owner opined that while minister was proud of $ 24 billion earned through exports and $12 billion in remittances send homewards by the Pakistani diaspora; the question remains whether these indicators brought any positive change in the life of a common man. Professor Dr Omar Hayat says that every welfare state grants subsidy on bread as the staple food, cereals, milk, tea and sugar. He regretted that this aspect seems to have been overlooked.
A government servant speaking on the condition of anonymity said that there is an announcement of 15 percent increase in salaries and pensions but it is noteworthy that double digit inflation, according to private surveys, has touched 20 percent. In this scenario, it remains a no-win situation for government servants”, he said. Mohammad Ali, an unemployed civil engineer said that government employees that are just the two percent of the total population who will be able to absorb the impact of hyperinflation through a bump in their salaries.
“But the million dollar question is that how will the 98 percent non-government serving masses will withstand the floods of price hikes”, he asked. Shahbaz Khan, an economic analyst in a private company, was quite upset about the budget. “Every time the government asks its people to tighten their belts”, he protested. Allah Ditta, a farmer predicted that more and more people will quit farming to find jobs in the factories. It is because the withdrawal of subsidy on fertiliser and imposition of excise duty on tractors will substantially increase our cost of production whereas the price of wheat has pegged to three year old rates.
An NGO Executive Waseem Anthony indicated that he was dubious of the finance minister’s claims that his government will be able to maintain seven percent growth. “The fact of the matter is that our actual GDP growth is not more than two percent”. Mohammad Rashid, a chartered accountant, expressed deep reservations about the government’s hollow slogan of tax net expansion. He underlined that out of a population of 180 million, there are only two million tax payers alongside tax collection machinery that embezzles Rs 500 billion every year.
“The minister has just claimed to have identified 2.3 million new taxpayers but collection is an uphill task and there will be no major change in tax evasion landscape,” he predicted.
