In an interview with Dawn for the special report, the chief minister agreed that Sindh was once the leader of industrial progress and economic development “which was reversed about two decades ago”. He did not elaborate as to who reversed the progress of Sindh and why and how.
“My government has taken measures to revive industrialisation and improve the quality of rural life”, Dr Arbab Rahim said while responding to questions.
Question: Land acquisition for setting up industrial projects in Sindh is quite a big problem. The general perception is that speculators have taken control of industrial lands in Sindh and are keeping the genuine investors away. What are you doing to tackle this problem?
Answer: We have made laws and amended the Colonisation Act to make provisions for providing industrial plots at a much lower price than the prevailing market price. Genuine industrialists are now being offered industrial plots on 25 per cent of market rates. At the same time we have constituted a scrutiny committee headed by the senior member, Board of Revenue, that determines the market price. This committee ensures that the investor who has been given an industrial plot on a concessional rate utilises it for the purpose for which the land has been given. In case of non compliance, the industrial plot is forfeited without any refund.
The scrutiny committee has already categorised industrial lands into A-I, A, B and C categories and fixed prices accordingly.
My government will do anything to further improve the land allotment process and do the needful in other areas wherever required.
Q: What has been the pace of industrialisation since the time you took over as chief minister of the province? How do you plan to maintain or push up this momentum?
A: Two foreign companies are looking for land within the municipal limits of the city for setting up warehousing, processing and packaging facilities of the agricultural products. One of them is a giant German retail outlet network. This company has been given an 11-acre plot near Safari Park in Gulshan-i-Iqbal. A Dutch company is also looking for a plot to set up warehousing, processing and packaging of agricultural products. The two companies will bring substantial foreign investment and help farmers in upgrading their products for marketing in international hotel chains and other places. These companies will also explore export facilities for Pakistan’s agricultural products. They will assist farmers in acquisition of better farming techniques and produce value added products. Besides increasing the income level of our farmers, these companies will generate a good number of jobs.
Q: How are foreign or local investors being attracted to the province? What tools do you have at your disposal to lure investors? For example what fiscal incentives or financial concessions can you offer to prospective investors?
A: Quick and easy allotment of land at prices which are lower than the market rate is by itself a big incentive. Then, location of a project near a seaport is another attraction. I have an investment cell in the Chief Minister’s House that receives investment proposals. The cell processes these proposals and facilitates quick approval.
At present there are 117 investment proposals with the cell. These proposals are in various stages of processing. For example, there are three proposals for setting up iron and steel plants and iron ore mining. One investor wants to develop Bandal Island near Karachi which is now being examined by the Pakistan Navy and the Defence Housing Authority. There are proposals for developing industrial estates in and around Karachi and in other parts of the province, set up housing projects, a chain of schools and automobiles plants.
Q: All that is being done for attracting industrial investment looks very impressive. But how much investment has been attracted so far? How many new units have been set up or how many existing units were upgraded in last three years?
A: The answer to this question was provided by Mr Muslim Abbassi of the Chief Minister’s House investment cell: There are no figures available to quantify the flow of investment in Sindh or number of projects set up. But there is rule of thumb that out of the total national investment in any single year, the share of Sindh comes roughly to 40 per cent. Applying this yardstick, Sindh has received about $1.6 billion of foreign investment since the year 2002-03. The inflow of this investment can be more than assumed because the trend of foreign investment flows has been towards sectors and areas which are in Sindh.
Q: The four years of drought that struck almost all parts of Pakistan hit Sindh hardest. It claimed a heavy toll of livestock and in the process further impoverished the already poor farmers. What is your government doing to help such small farmers?
A: Water availability has improved a lot and farmers in Sindh are now harvesting a bumper wheat crop this season. We had a few good crops in the recent past. Farmers were able to get a good price dor wheat, rice and sugarcane. As for livestock, the government plans to initiate from the next fiscal year a district-wise programme for setting up livestock farms. The farmers will be given money to buy livestock. We want to usher in a white revolution in the province by developing dairy farming. Plans are in hand to revive closed milk plants in Karachi and set up a new milk plant in Sukkur. We want to associate the private sector in the processing, manufacture and marketing of a wide range of dairy products. The consumers will get a variety of dairy products and farmers will get access to urban markets. This is a sort of a rural-urban linkage we want to promote in our province.
Q: But where would the money come from? Will it come from the budget, the private sector or from foreign sources?
A: Money will come from all these sources. We will provide money from the budget, from the rural development package of Rs1 billion. We plan to set up a Sindh Bank. I know there has been some talk on this issue. But we have taken this project seriously. We want to associate the private sector and we have talked to a few parties. The proposed bank is expected to provide loans, small and big, to deserving parties after careful scrutiny of the applications.
Q: Even after so much deterioration, by accident or by design, Karachi still remains the economic power house of the country. The unfortunate aspect is that the benefit of Karachi’s economic progress has not reached the rural areas of Sindh. Why? Why don’t we see many Sindhi workers in our mills and factories and in offices?
A: By their nature, the Sindhis for generations do not leave their homes easily. They are strongly attached to their hearth and homes and reluctant to move out for better opportunities. Still, the number of Sindhis in Karachi and other cities has increased considerably. This number will go on increasing. We now propose to give special emphasis to the development of the rural areas. We want to develop roads that should give villages access to nearby towns and villages. We want to have metalled roads connecting villages and within every village. We want to encourage construction of city-like dwellings in the villages. We want the rural population to enjoy all those facilities — electricity, water supply, sanitation, telephones, etc — that are available to their fellow citizens in the cities. We want to make a move in that direction in our next budget. I tell you, President Musharraf is very keen to see an improvement in the quality of rural life in Sindh and he has given all support to our government for this.
Q: President Musharraf had to intervene in the affairs of the National Finance Commission (NFC) after the provinces fail to reach a consensus. Are you content with the president’s NFC formula or want further NFC deliberations?
A: A consensus in the NFC is hard to obtain because every province has taken a position which is in conflict with the other. The president’s formula has increased Sindh’s share and we hope to take up our programmes from this money.
Q: Rightly or wrongly, there is a perception that the present coalition in Sindh is not a comfortable arrangement. The governor and his party are addressing only the urban areas while the chief minister and his colleagues are looking after rural interests.
A: No, this is a completely wrong impression. We in the government work as a team. You should realise that there are always some problems in a coalition arrangement.
Even in India, where the political process has remained uninterrupted and there are traditions of coalitions at the state and union levels, there are many instances of friction in the coalition. But there is no such friction in Sindh. Every member of
the government will work within the constitutional framework. — S.G