March 10, 2007	Saturday	Safar 20, 1428

PESHAWAR, March 9: Major changes in composition as well as election procedures for chambers and trade associations are on the cards through the draft Trade Organisation Ordinance Rules 2007.

Under the rules it has been proposed to allot one seat each of vice president to the business community representing AJK, women entrepreneurs and areas comprising FATA, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and Northern Areas.

The business leaders commenting on the new rule said that under the existing rules a member could be enrolled in the voter list on first year of obtaining membership. However this period was being increased up to two years.Election procedures for the main offices of both FPCCI and chambers have also been amended, as in the first election, the president and senior vice president will be elected for a period of one year under the new arrangement.

In the following years, the senior vice president will succeed the outgoing president for a period of one year and the election will be held for the post of senior vice president every year for a term of one year.

Business community in the NWFP has expressed reservations over some of the changes made in the proposed rules although they welcomed the new legislation in totality.

Leader of Businessmen Forum Senator Ilays Ahmad Bilour said new legislation would help eliminate fake organisations. He said the NWFP and Balochistan provinces had been given six seats each in the executive committee of the FPCCI whereas Punjab and Sindh will get 10 slots.

He suggested that the smaller provinces should be given equal representation in the FPCCI executive committee.

Zahid Ullah Shinwari, executive member Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) believed that the condition of being registered in the sales tax net for the member of a chamber was illogical, if one look at the environment of NWFP.

According to him, most of the small traders here do not file sales tax returns so they would be deprived of chamber’s membership, if relaxation were not given to them.

He also had reservations over what he called sweeping powers of the director general Trade Organisations in the election process.

He said that under the draft rules the DGTO has been empowered to suspend or terminate any executive member of the chamber and fill the vacant position without elections. “This would open ways to corruption and nepotism,” Mr Shinwari feared.