A large number of exporters have asked the government to appoint some top professional to head the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) to stir the stagnation in exports by out of the box solutions.
An official source said that the government has so far made no decision on the appointment of the new chief executive. The Commerce Ministry wants appointment of a bureaucrat while the private sector is recommending appointing an experienced industry professional to head the organisation.
It is important to mention that TDAP is the export promotion agency of the government with a vast mandate and huge funds. The organisation has helped tap in new export markets but has not been able to diversify export products. The agency has failed to tap the huge opportunities resulting from e-commerce the world over.
Chairman of the Business Advisory Committee of the KP government and FPCCI former Vice President Riaz Khattak said the TDAP should play its role to increase exports with effective and long-term business plans.
Criticising the performance of former CEO SM Muneer, he said that the organisation required a full-time executive. Muneer did nothing for exports during his three years term and now was blaming the bureaucracy for poor exports. We don’t want another like him; the government should bring in some professional.
Horticulture products exporter and FPCCI Regional Standing Committee Chairman Ahmad Jawad said the business community was thankful to the prime minister for not giving an extension to Muneer.
We are hopeful that under the guidance of the PM, the ministry would appoint an experienced person to head the TDAP so that an effective business plan was worked out to halt dwindling exports.
