Islamabad: Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has strongly urged the new Shehbaz Sharif-led federal government to speed up the privatization agenda, especially in the power sector, as greater involvement of the private sector is key to overcoming the nation’s dire economic challenges. .
The former prime minister was addressed as the chief guest at the inaugural session of the 16th CSR Summit and Awards-2024 organized by the National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH), on which 77 companies were felicitated for their outstanding philanthropic work in the past year. year for the welfare of poor communities in the country.
While extolling the role of private companies in uplifting disadvantaged communities, the former prime minister said privatization was the only way for the new government to overcome the economic crisis as the rulers and bureaucracy failed to manage the economy as per the demands. contemporary world.
He said that the problems of the power sector are massively caused by the current economic crisis as privatization agenda should be implemented without further delay to solve these problems.
Abbasi was of the opinion that privatization in the power sector should be done quickly to save it from total bankruptcy.
He said that companies in the power and energy sector that have not been able to pay their obligations for the electricity, oil and gas they bought for a long time have already gone bankrupt.
He called on the new federal government to urgently begin the privatization agenda of loss-making power distribution companies, whose ownership should no longer remain state-owned.
The former prime minister said that the government has a precedent at its disposal in the form of Karachi Electric, which as a DISCO was run efficiently after privatisation. Other DISCOs should be privatized in the same manner, he said.
Abbasi said the massive circular debt problem involving trillions of rupees cannot be solved without privatisation.
He lamented that the bureaucracy in Pakistan had failed to introduce such market-driven modern solutions to save the national economy, as bureaucrats were still reliant on decades-old administrative options that no longer worked.
The former prime minister said that political stability, the rule of law and the constitution, and free and fair elections are prerequisites for stabilizing the economy.
Ambassador of Denmark to Pakistan Jakob Linulf as the guest of honor shared with the audience Denmark’s success story of effective use of renewable energy sources in the country to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels for power generation.
He informed the audience that Danish companies took with them the same vision of protecting the environment and fighting the problem of climate change when they went overseas to do business.
He said that Danish companies were worth protecting the health of employees and their families as much as possible in line with their CSR principles.
The Danish ambassador said that companies from Denmark have also done everything in their power to support the empowerment of women, as they are equal opportunity employers regardless of where they operate in the world.
He urged the awardee companies to continue their exemplary philanthropic work in the fields of education, health, environment, climate change, women empowerment, community upliftment and poverty alleviation for the progress of Pakistan.
High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Pakistan, Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne, spoke as the next guest of honor and informed the audience about the massive global welfare initiative launched by the Sri Lankan nation by donating corneas after death to restore sight to the blind. people all over the world.
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He said that out of 88,000 corneas donated by Sri Lankan people, about 35,000 were used for the benefit of Pakistan’s visually impaired people, indicating the strong bond between the two countries.
He said 38,000 staff comprising doctors, medical support staff and volunteers are available in Sri Lanka to safely carry out the cornea donation will of deceased Sri Lankans.
He appreciated the unwavering support that Sri Lanka received from Pakistan during the years of deadly civil war that went a long way in keeping his country intact.
Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar said CSR initiatives of the corporate sector could go a long way in supporting the causes of community upliftment, poverty alleviation, environmental protection and slowing the phenomenon of climate change. to serve the needy people of Azad Kashmir.
He lamented that several banks, despite having very profitable operations in Azad Kashmir, have not done any CSR project for the welfare of impoverished Kashmiris.
He said CSR initiatives should address the issues of deforestation, environmental degradation and climate change that threaten the survival and livelihood of vulnerable communities in the hilly north of Pakistan.
MNA, Nafisa Shah called for a legal framework to formalize CSR initiatives in Pakistan.
She assured the audience that the relevant standing committees of the new House of the National Assembly would hold formal hearings to encourage and support the work of CSR in Pakistan.
The President of NFEH, Naeem Qureshi said that the CSR summit organized every year has gone a long way in supporting the causes of community upliftment, reforestation, poverty alleviation, skill development, healthcare and education projects for the poor people in Pakistan.
He urged the corporate sector to pool their CSR resources and initiatives to best serve the underprivileged communities.
