Barely a few weeks after the Karachi Electric Supply Company (KESC) got heavily criticized for privatisation by the SPDI, it had the SBP ex-governor and the IBA Dean DR Ishrat addressing a Forum at the KESC headquarter.
The forum, would organize seminars on economic issues focusing on logical and implement able policies aimed at sustainable economic and social development. KESC would invite movers and shakers of different economic segments to present their in-depth analysis on various economic issues and their solutions. Businessmen, corporate leaders, diplomats, media personalities and literary personalities from all walks of life would be invited to attend these seminars.
Dr. Ishrat Husain, former Governor of State Bank and currently Dean and Director of IBA Karachi, delivered keynote address on the topic “The Impact of Privatization on Sustainable Development” in the inaugural session. Around 180 corporate executives and KESC managers attended the session. Dr Ishrat in his address said that he remains in favor of “all things privatized”, if certain preconditions are met, without which the privatization process can never yield the desired results. He rejected criticism of privatization from economic populists and dismantled their arguments using data and facts with incredible ease. He touched on the theoretical arguments in favor of privatization before laying out in detail how the banking sector, telecommunications sector, and the power sector after being privatized contributed to the economy KESC’s CEO Mr. Tabish Gauhar expressed hope that the “Thought Leadership Forum” would highlight meaningful, practical and insightful solutions and provide useful inputs to our policy makers.
