Zakaria Usman, former president Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) and Ghani Usman, leader of Businessmen Panel have called upon the government to reopen the country to save the economy from collapse and feared that food supply, the healthcare provisions and other essential items will soon run out resulting in widespread poverty, starvation and massive unemployment if the remedial measures were not taken.
In a statement, they emphasized the need for devising to devise a strategy about the reopening of factories, offices & other institutions by learning from various other countries who have done this by very careful planning, deliberations and consideration.
They referred to China, Austria, Germany and many others, which they said are moving fast towards gradual re-opening of economic entities. “We should now also re-open Pakistan while, strictly observing the safety rules of keeping a safe distances, wearing masks and gloves at all time in and around the workplaces and shop floors and taking care of very old and fragile people who should remain protected at home” they urged.
They demanded Federal and provincial governments to liaise with business community and prepare a comprehensive program of re-opening the economy. They sought suggestions, advice, and comments from business and trade circles to incorporate the same in our communication with authorities to achieve the above-stated objective.
Both leaders appreciated the various economic assistance packages that have been announced and are being undertaken by the Government like assistance program under BISP, and Ehsas program and others for daily wagers and poor people as well as financial support for NGOs like Edhi Foundation, Saylani Trust and others.
They also commended the issuance of a long-held refund of Rs.115 billion to exporters and business houses and reduction in the interest rate to 9% which, surely will help cushion the impact of Coronavirus shock on growth and employment by easing the debt service burden of business and industry and maintain their financial stability. We hope and expect that the trend of decreasing interest rates will continue in coming months, they said.
On behalf of FPCCI, both leaders assured the business community their full support in the time of Corona related crisis and believed that thing will normalize soon, as it has normalized in past pandemics e.g. Bubonic Plague in 1347, Small Pox in 1520, Cholera in 1817, Spanish Flu in 1918, Asian Flu1957, SARS in 2002, MERS in 2012Swine flu 2009, to name a few.
However, on the political front, both leaders noted that the devastating impact of the novel coronavirus in Pakistan has not made our leaders to unite to face the challenges of lockdown and weak economic activities to put aside their partisan differences. But as the events of the last few weeks have proved, even in this time of a pandemic, the thirst to fight and inflict political harm to others has not subsided.
On the other hand, this devastation of our economic life should have served as a wake-up call for the entire country to unite for reconciliation and to provide people with the essentials of life such as health, education, and safe drinking water, they said.
They stressed to learn from this pandemic a lesson in cooperation and respect for others so that we can resolve conflicts and embark on a common journey of peace and progress for everyone.
They believed that first and foremost challenge that need to be taken care of how to restart and reopen the economy that has been shut down by this pandemic while keeping safe the masses from COVID-19.