ISLAMABAD, Sept 26: Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Federal Minister for Privatization and Investment has stated that the inefficiencies of public sector entities are a constant burden on national exchequer and the poor people of this country are directly due to the non-professional performance of these entities.

The minister stated this while addressing a National Privatization Conference organized by Actionaid organization, which was largely participated by the office bearers and representatives of various trade unions and workers here on Monday.

He said that the workers should take into account those who ruined these national assets and brought them to such worse stage where the employees were unable to receive their monthly salaries. Linking of downsizing with privatization was not justified as in the privatization of past 28 transactions not even a single worker was retrenched, he said. However, wherever there was over staffing there were fears of reducing the staff by the new owners, he added.

Dr. Shaikh said that telecom sector has been opened up and growth was being noticed, which was also creating job opportunities in this sector. The inactive and dead projects like Hyatt Regency, Falleti’s Hotel, Rohri Cement, Kohinoor Oil Mills, Thatta Cement were becoming active and increasing their capacity through expansion and generating more job opportunities for the people of the respective areas, he stated.

Discussing the issue of privatizing profitable units like Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited and Pakistan Steel Mills Corporation, the minister said that these units had the capacity to make more profit, which was not possible in the public sector as the government has funding problems to enhance their capacity for the desired results.

Referring to the UBL transaction, Dr. Hafeez Shaikh stated that it remained with the government for decades and the government had to inject billions of rupees to keep it operational but the beneficiaries of the UBL were politicians, bureaucrats and other powerful people who got huge loans. After the privatization of UBL, government was now receiving dividend on its 49 per cent shareholding and was no more injecting any money in it, he added.

He said that World Bank and the IMF had been promoting the public sector entities like Wapda, Gas companies and Telecom, which got patronage from the Chief Pattern of Bureaucracy the former Finance Minister Ghulam Ishaq Khan during Zia regime providing basic needs, justice and good policies were among the role of a government the minister underlined.

Mr Zulfikar Ali Bhutto realized after nationalization that the bureaucracies as rightly termed in the economy as principle State agent problem, have their own ideas, therefore in his own government, Mr Z.A. Bhutto started the privatization process.