The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance Tuesday unanimously passed the Federal Government Properties Management Authority Bill, 2021. The bill envisages establishing the authority through which the federal government will take care of the real estate and properties located at the length and breadth of the country. Chairman Faizullah Kamuka presided over the meeting at the Parliament House.
The Finance Ministry officials briefed the NA panel members that the government wanted to create a centralized system for managing the properties.
Ayesha Ghous Pasha, a member of the committee, stressed that there was an urgent need for an authority to have centralized data of properties.
Another committee member, Ramesh Kumar said it was very important to seek the viewpoint, in this regard, of those institutions which had more properties, including railways.
The Finance Ministry officials said the authority would also set prices, including for the sale and purchase, of properties. The Finance Minister would be the chairman of the board, while the government would select its vice-chairman.
The committee also deliberated on Micro Finance Institution Amendment Bill, 2021 moved by Member Assembly Sajida Begum. She said that microfinance institutions did not provide loans to SMEs. She informed the committee that Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) were suffering due to a lack of facilitation to provide loans to the SME sector. She said this bill was basically to empower the women in Pakistan in SME industries. The committee directed that all banks and stakeholders be called in its next meeting.
Dr. Nafisa Shah said that the entire microfinance policy of this country needed to be reviewed. She said the microfinance banks did lend to women and youth, but their markup was very high.
On the occasion, the Executive Director of the State Bank of Pakistan said that most of the banks had approved microfinance policy from their boards. According to the officials, loans were also provided by banks to special persons doing business, while ramps and special desks had also been set up in banks for special persons.
The committee called for a detailed briefing on microfinance policy. The Chair said the presidents of other banks including microfinance banks should ensure their attendance in the next meeting. He also directed SBP to ensure the attendance of the presidents of the banks. The committee sought details of loans extended to SMEs.
The committee considered Malik Ehsanullah Tiwana’s calling attention notice which sought a waiver of loans to small farmers in drought and famine-hit areas. Briefing the meeting, the President of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank said that ZTBL could not waive off the loans due to financial problems. The government had given a 10% markup subsidy to farmers during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the government had not yet transferred the amount of subsidy to the bank. He maintained that the bank was providing facilities to the farmers within their financial means. He said ZTBL was providing agricultural loans worth Rs. 181 billion annually.
The Finance Ministry officials told the committee that the government had decided to issue interest-free loans for agriculture in the Kamyab Pakistan program. According to the officials, the Kamyaab Pakistan program for small farmers was launched in Punjab and Sindh, and it would initially cover two districts of Sindh, including Umerkot and Tharparkar.
The Chair said that the government should provide agricultural loans through ZTBL. “If agricultural loans are to be given from the Kamyab Pakistan program, ZTBL should be closed down,” he said.
Member National Assembly Dr. Nafisa Shah noticed that big businessmen and ‘white-collar people’ had always been given incentives in Pakistan, making it very difficult for the common man to get a loan.
During the meeting, officials of the Ministry of Finance gave a detailed briefing on the governance and operations of the Government-Owned Institutions Bill, 2021. According to the briefing, Pakistan has more than 200 government-owned entities controlled by 20 Ministries. These include commercial, non-commercial and subsidiary proprietorships. The committee was told that there was no mechanism in place to monitor the performance of government-owned entities. According to Finance Ministry officials, this was a conflict of interest. The government was pursuing an ownership management policy to monitor the state-owned enterprises. It was informed that the policy would be reviewed every five years. A committee would be formed to nominate the members of the board.
Committee members Dr. Nafisa Shah and Ayesha Ghous Pasha objected to the committee being given the power to nominate board members of government agencies. They said if the government-owned entities were at a loss, the Finance Ministry could play a role. The intervention of the Ministry of Finance in operational matters would only add to the confusion. The Chairman said that the bill was only being discussed and approval would be given once the amendments were presented by all the members.
