Deteriorating law &order in Pakistan cause of downslide in business: UNISAME

Karachi, May 17, 2011 (PPI): The Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (UNISAME) conducted a survey to determine the reasons why SMEs are refraining from setting up new businesses and ascertained that main draw back is the deteriorating law and order situation.

President UNISAME Zulfikar Thaver said 75 percent of the entrepreneurs have said they are afraid of putting up shops and factories due to the fear of being robbed and looted by miscreants and others said the buying power of consumers has been reduced due to inflation and cost of production has increased making business nonviable.

Yet others complained of load shedding and complained that generator fuel is very costly and units cannot run on generators.

Few cases reported high taxation, cost of utilities, high wages, transportation cost which makes business uneconomical and very difficult.

The union on the basis of the information collected from prospective entrepreneurs submitted that entrepreneurs are in a position to overcome all the impediments but become helpless in the face of deteriorating law and order situation. The SMEs expressed their earnest desire to set up shops, workshops, factories and service centres to the union representatives and are in a position to cope up with the other factors of production as the sale price would include the cost and profit but the poor law and order situation causes them to give up the idea of going into business and waiting till such time the situation improves.

The union has urged the authorities to take the bad law and order situation very seriously and remove the fear of the sector and enable them to do their own businesses as self employment is the answer to unemployment.