KARACHI: EOBI asked to explore more profitable avenues
KARACHI, July 15: Federal Minister for Labour, Manpower and Overseas Pakistanis, Abdus Sattar Lalika, on Tuesday asked the Employees Old Age Benefit Institution (EOBI) to go for direct investment and explore viable and more profitable avenues like hydel power generation to help ensure welfare of pensioners.
“EOBI should look for high returns and enter into joint ventures with local and foreign companies specially in the hydel sector,” the minister said while presiding over a meeting here at EOBI’s headquarters.
He said the investment of funds in a more profitable way along with increased contributions from employers would help provide honourable life to pensioners who in most cases were physically unable to do any work after 60 years of age.
He asked for bringing the maximum number of employees and employers into the net.
“Employers should be convinced to contribute more in this head as it would also improve performance of their employees who would see their life secure after retirement,” he said.
The minister, however, appreciated the working of EOBI which has enhanced the collection of contributions to 20 percent.
He noted with satisfaction that through a team work the organization had achieved 33.6 percent increase in registration of employers in 2002-03 under its voluntary registration scheme. He said that EOBI was giving monthly pensions to 225,000 persons.
The minister said President Pervez Musharraf had given the country economic stability and initiated many programmes for poverty reduction and uplift of the poor, and Prime Minister Mir Zaffarullah Khan Jamali had been striving to complete the agenda. “EOBI’s scheme is a part of this agenda,” he added.
Earlier, Chairman EOBI Muhammad Shafi Malik briefed the minister on the working of the institution as well as the problems faced by it. He underlined the need for setting up of an investment authority to manage the funds.
EOBI’s director general investment and operations, Farooq Awan, also apprised the minister of EOBI’s future investment plans and proposals.
He called for restoration of viability of the EOBI scheme, restoration of government contribution and provision of the sovereign guarantee by the federal government. Besides, he said, the EOBI property should be exempted from the provincial property tax.—APP
