The Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders (ICST) on Sunday said the government was borrowing around $8 billion per annum while it has taken loans worth $24 billion during the last three years.
The government took loans from sources including IMF and through floating bonds in the international market while over $2.5 billion were paid as interest on these loans, said Islamabad Chamber of Small Traders Patron Shahid Rasheed Butt.
He said that the cited objectives of these loans were said to be improving balance of payment situation, reducing dependence on domestic loans, debt repayment and keeping exchange rate stable.
Shahid Rasheed Butt said that despite record loans the economy was not in very good shape as one of the most important sectors i.e. exports was showing continuous downward trend.
He said that the exports fell by $5 billion in the last three years which is a grave threat to the economy. ’Our exports continue to fall while that of rival economies like India, Vietnam, and Bangladesh etc. continue to improve’, he added.
The veteran business leader said that the announcements by the top government officials to improve exports through interventions remained unimplemented which has added to the miseries of the exports sector.
‘The exporters are reeling due to energy crisis, want of refunds, taxation problems and jacked up cost of doing business’, he added.
The weakness of the external sector would take toll on economy therefore policymakers should not delay reforms in this critical sector, he demanded.
