Does ‘continuity’ mean no hopes for engineering sector?

Caretaker Prime Minister An­waarul Haq Kakar said in his maiden press conference that his government would ensure continuity in the economic policies of the country. As per the face value of his statement, one can think of three outcomes. One, the roadmap designed for sailing with the IMF Program would be followed. Two, inflation as a result of the program’s conditions would remain unchecked and thus continue to screw up the lives of the common people and three; the engineering sector will continue to face hardships like it did during the 16-month stint of PM Kakar’s predecessor.
Yes, if he and his government move to improve the situation, which was the next part of his statement that the PM Office Media Wing issued, then one would see what this improvement looks like and will bring about for the country.
He said that further enhancement of foreign investment under the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) is among the top priorities of the caretaker set-up.
The prime minister chaired a meeting in which he was given a detailed briefing over the economic situation, the PM Office Media Wing said in a press release.
During the meeting, the prime minister said that work on public welfare projects would continue and the government would ensure the provision of international quality facilities in the health and education sectors.
He also directed expediting ongoing reforms in the power sector and strict implementation of measures for increasing tax revenues.
Prime Minister Kakar said that the caretaker government would concentrate on deregulation and responsible autonomy for further improvement of the economy, and expressed the resolve to focus their energies on economic reform during their tenure.
Keeping the prime minister’s statement at bay, the performance of the economy for the engineering sector during the Shehbaz Sharif government remained dismal from engineers’ point of view. None of the engineering sectors showed a sign of improvement, be it construction, manufacturing or power sector, etc.
Most senior engineers say the construction industry was devastated due to high inflation and thus the associated industries took a nose dive.
A large number of public sector projects are stalled due to inflation and price hike of construction materials, says Engineer Farhat Adil, President of the Institution of Engineers Pakistan.
The federal government failed to come up with a price adjustment formula despite a series of meetings in which a comprehensive adjustment arrangement was reached. ‘The formula is stuck up with the planning commission’, he told Engineering Review. The government failed to notify it and thus the construction industry faced a severe blow. Even now, there are many projects which stand far from completion as the prices of construction materials do not match the initial plans of the projects, making them unfeasible.
Not only that, but the manufacturing sector also suffered a huge blow. The government ceased to issue permission for opening LCs and thus the industry found nothing but to face the issue of supply chain. ‘Since our industry adds value and needs imported raw material which disappeared gradually because of the ban on imports’, he said.
The crunch in Pakistan resulted in the closure of automobile units, including big names like Indus Motors and Suzuki. This sector could not garner government support, he said.
On the employment side, Engr. Farhat said the fresh engineer in Pakistan drew thirty thousand as salary which is equal to the salary of a driver. Thousands of engineers are jobless and there was no plan to put them in use for the prosperity of the country.