Karachi: The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) has invited the attention of Hammad Azhar federal minister for Industries and Production (MoI and P) to the need for SME policy 2020 to be friendly and promotion and development-oriented rather than a restricting and curtailing policy.
President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver said the draft SME policy 2020 sent to stakeholder institutions does not envisage all the requirements of the sector.
Thaver said it is unnecessarily complicating matters regarding globally accepted definition parameters such as turnover, employment size and productive assets and has also come up with registration formalities. Not realizing that some of the micro entrepreneurs do not come under the tax bracket. They are trying to play the role of the other departments.
Likewise SME financing is not their domain and their exercises are futile in making framework for such purposes.
UNISAME experts said the sector has faced very tough times and the impact of the pandemic and the recent floods have left them devastated.
In such a situation the sector needs to be facilitated, encouraged, helped and supported. It also needs to be motivated.
They pointed out that the union knows where the shoe pinches and the policy has to be inclusive. UNISAME chief regretted that the action plan and the draft policy was not sent to them but fortunately some of the institutions realized the need to include the representatives of the sector and engaged them in fruitful consultations which proved beneficial.
UNISAME council experts pointed out the fact that the policy has to align with the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS), the CPEC and the goals of enhancing exports, the promotion of setting up innovative industries and import substitution industries of the ministry of science and technology under the dynamic leadership of its minister Fawad Chaudhry and his team.
They were surprised to find the essence and spirit of value addition also lacking and no plans were indicated to create the much needed value addition bureau were mentioned in the policy.
UNISAME experts stressed the need for letting the union study the policy thoroughly before finalizing it. Policies are not made every year but have long term implications and need to be examined thoroughly before approval by the prime minister.
UNISAME experts regretted that last policy was made in 2007 and the one which is being framed has taken too long as it was being processed with fits and starts.
It is pertinent to note that no SME policy can be complete and prove effective without the SME true and real representatives being taken on board.