KARACHI, Oct 25: A selected group of business leaders is exploring possibilities of opening the membership of the chambers and trade associations to the professionals - chartered and cost accountants, bankers, architects etc., - to make these bodies broad based, representative in character and more functional and assertive in their role.
As a first step towards this direction, the managing committee of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has given approval to the appointment of a local chartered accountant company as a consultant. Senior lawyers and other professionals have also been appointed as consultants of a task force to carry out reforms in the FPCCI and other trade bodies.
Ch Mohammad Saeed, soon after being elected president of the FPCCI in a controversial election promised in a press conference early this year to carry out reforms in his body. He acknowledged criticism on the trade bodies and pledged to make them more transparent, research-oriented, democratic and representative in their character and functioning.
“Trade bodies including the FPCCI, chambers and associations are arenas of professional businessman politicians,” confided a former president of the KCCI who welcome the idea of induction of professionals. He said a large number of top business leaders are ignorant and unable to draft even a simple resolution.
These days when the battle cry is to get rid of bureaucrats and semi-literate politicians in formulation of business policies and framing of a national agenda, the need is to put into place elected, democratic and representative business organizations which can match the state functionaries in skill and competence.
Another senior business leader recalled how the bureaucrats got their first shock of life in Pakistan when during Yahya Khan’s government, Air Marshal Nur Khan brought a team of young professionals for framing a new labour policy. These professionals treated senior bureaucrats with contempt. Dr Mubashir, first finance minister of Bhutto was the other technocrat who gave their due to the senior functionaries of finance ministry. Bhutto’s policy of lateral entry was the final kick. But Ghulam Ishaq Khan, during Zia rule re-assembled the lost power of bureaucrats who now kick the dust and raise issues and non issues to divert public opinion.
A large number of business-men are convinced that the bureaucrats and feudal politicians stranglehold on national affairs has to be loosened to release new ideas.
Formation of trade bodies in which active role is now proposed for bankers, engineers, chartered and cost accountants is being considered a step in that direction. “We know the resistance to come from the conventional core of business leadership and the bureaucrats,” a businessman said.
The irony is that all these amendments in the articles of association of the FPCCI and other reform proposals will have to be adopted by the managing committee and the general body of the FPCCI. Most of these business leaders represent fake chambers and paper trade bodies.
In another development, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has called a meeting of the Director of Trade Organizations (DTO) and business leaders at Islamabad on November 8.
“We will ask the SECP and DTO to set criteria for the membership of chamber and trade associations,” confided a business leader.
At present there are 47 chambers and 129 A and B category trade associations are affiliated with the FPCCI. The chambers represent the regional business interest while trade associations represent sectoral business interest. The FPCCI gives membership to a chamber or a trade association. The DTO ascertain the correct location of the chamber or the trade association. The SECP issues the licence every year and ensures corporate compliance from each and every chamber and trade associations.
A large number of chambers are bogus. For example there is a FATA Chamber located at Peshawar. The FATA area is now literally a battlefield where troops are moving day and night and there is no business. There are chambers which has office-bearers and members of the managing committee from one family or the employees of one company. Similarly, the trade associations are paper bodies. The office-bearers of these bogus chambers and fake trade associations are used as ‘hari voters’ to get elect office-bearers in the FPCCI and chambers of their choice.
No wonder than the FPCCI, the chambers and the trade associations have lost their respect and weight. About two years ago the leaders of Karachi chamber complained to Shaukat Aziz then finance minister of the tax burden and got a befitting reply. “I know how much tax you give,” the minister had then replied while saying that these issues will be discussed behind the closed doors.
Businessmen unfortunately still carry the image of robber barons who evade taxes, default on bank loans, pilfer electricity, deny the workers their due wages and thrive on sub-standard quality goods. With fast changing business scene when national borders will have to be opened for goods from all parts of the world, certain senior and serious business consider a change in complexion in business leadership a necessity.