Renowned economist Dr Kaiser Bengali while commenting on the economy of Pakistan has said that Pakistan has become a ‘casino economy’. He was addressing the launching ceremony of his report “Economy on a roller coaster-and stuck in the mud.” Dr. Bengali has previously served as the first head of Benazir Income Support Programme and designed the program. He also represented provincial governments of Sindh and Balochistan at the 7th and 9th National Finance Commission (NFC) respectively.
Dr Kaiser Bengali said that his analysis of the last quarter century performance of the economy shows that 25-year average growth rates of key crops and manufacturing sectors have ranged from negative to as low as one percent and has been consistently unstable. He showed data and graphs of Pakistan’s economy of 25 years (1990-2015) regarding the overview of the state of the economy, key crops output, sample manufacturing output, external economy indicators and the growth volatility.
He recommended a 12-point programme to promote industrialization and revive the economy including ban on all non-essential consumer imports, reduction in the GST (goods) rate to 5 percent; single stage (no adjustments, no refunds) to promote manufacturing, strengthening capital gains tax measures in capital markets to discourage short-term speculative trading, induction of the principle of “right of first purchase” in land/property transactions and imports, revival of Pakistan Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC)’s role in setting up industries in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
