A high level meeting on Wednesday was informed that the phased privatization of selected institutions would be completed within the stipulated time frame as per the cabinet-approved programme and the denationalization of all institutions, including the PIA, power transmission companies (Discos), would be completed in accordance with the set targets.
The Prime Minister, who chaired the meeting held to review progress of privatization of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), underlined that the phased privatization targets of the selected institutions should be set according to the economic environment so that the national exchequer could be protected from possible losses.
Privatization was officially launched in Pakistan in January 1991 with a vision to promote free-market economy, attract foreign investment, reduce the burden of state-owned enterprises and improve efficiency. It was also claimed the programme was aimed at getting rid of loss-incurring institutions and that the proceeds will be used to retire the debt. Successive governments pursued the programme with tall claims but, after three decades, there is no evidence that the country has achieved any of the initial objectives and instead the privatization process has led to creation of monopolies and cartels that exploited consumers and customers in the absence of any effective regulatory framework. The PM has a point when he says the privatization of loss-making national enterprises was essential for the improvement and development of the country’s economy but so far mostly profit-earning institutions were divested and in the case of at least one prime institution the country has not received full proceeds despite lapse of twenty years. In fact, we miserably failed to privatize loss-making enterprises and sold family silver at throw away prices. There are, therefore, reasons to pause and review the privatization strategy.
