ISLAMABAD: While various committees of the newly formed cabinet continue to surprise with their chain of command, the Prime Minister has unveiled a new and specialised committee. This committee will be dedicated to enhancing the ease of doing business in the country, as per the notification received from the Prime Minister’s house.
Chaired by Mr. Abdul Aleem Khan, Minister for Investment and Privatisation, the committee boasts a lineup of distinguished members representing various governmental bodies, including chief secretaries from different provinces, Mr. Hamid Yaqoob Sheikh, and delegates from pivotal organisations such as the Pakistan Single Window.
According to the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report, Pakistan’s ranking has fluctuated, reflecting persistent obstacles such as bureaucratic red tape, complex tax regulations, and insufficient infrastructure. In the 2020 Doing Business report, Pakistan ranked 108th out of 190 economies, showing some improvement from previous years but still indicating significant room for enhancement. Previously the country was even worse off, standing at 136 in 2019.
In PTI’s tenure of 2018-2021 , a high level steering committee was formed to oversee the progress of reforms on each of the 10 indicators measured under the ease of doing business report. This resulted in significant improvement in Pakistan’s rankings however the new government has come up with a new, more ambitious goal.
Outlined in its Terms of Reference (ToRs), the committee’s key objectives include:
Establishing an Investment Single Window: The committee aims to upgrade the investment landscape by streamlining processes, ranging from approvals to utility connections, through a centralised platform to bolster efficiency.
Developing Single Investor Interface: Building upon the success of the Pakistan Single Window (PSW) model, this initiative seeks to empower investors to electronically submit all required documentation, thereby curtailing paperwork and bureaucratic hurdles.
Cleansing Regulatory Requirements: The committee also endeavours to eliminate redundant and cumbersome regulations within a year. This would curtail the key problems of unnecessary red tape around business.
This involves a lengthy permit, approval and licensing process that leaves the businessman at the behest of the bureaucratic inefficiencies of the system.
Improving Pakistan’s Global Ranking: The committee has also set a rather ambitious target to propel Pakistan into the top 10 economies in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Report within three years. It is important to note that Pakistan is currently not even in the top 100 countries as per the latest rankings.
As per the TORs this will be done by implementing transformative reforms to enhance Pakistan’s global competitiveness.
Harmonising Provincial Regulations: Through the standardisation of regulations across provinces, the committee also aspires to forge a unified national-level framework to facilitate investment seamlessly.
Given a stringent timeline of 13 days, the committee is tasked with concluding its deliberations and presenting a comprehensive report. The Board of Investment has pledged its unwavering support to facilitate the committee’s endeavours.
In today changing environment and advent of A.I. Best practices are available very easily to overcome the ease of business.Many friendly countries doing it and Pakistan can learn from them.
We have Universities which can be task to develop the best system for doing fast track and focus system to start a business in Pakistan.Like LUMS and Business department of different universities come forward with innovative ideas.
We hope ministries will work on it.