(May 01, 2020)
FPCCI’s Businessmen Panel SVP, President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum and All Karachi Industrial Alliance, and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Friday said the ongoing situation can result in the bankruptcy of over one hundred countries. Many countries are using their total revenue to service debt and liabilities leaving little room for public health and social welfare, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that developed nations are ignoring debt cancellation however termination of debt will not resolve the issue faced by the poor countries but it will delay the crisis for a few years.
Talking to the business community, the veteran business leader said that Lebanon and Argentina were bankrupted before the coronavirus devastation which many others were on the brink. Many countries are forced to spend a substantial amount on repaying debt as compared to public health amid an emergency. There are countries without ventilators and without a single ICU while million shave not seen a doctor in their life.
The poor countries are demanding debt cancellation which if accepted will provide temporary relief and dozens of countries will again plunge into poverty, instability and conflicts because the global economic system is not balanced, he added.
The former minister noted that once the governments use to plan economic matters keeping the welfare of people in mind but now it’s all about the welfare of rich. Wealthy are promoted using every tool resulting in a global casino economy.
The global economic system is stealing for poor to feed the rich and developed nations are not ready to change it for good. Now the process of decision-making has been left to multinationals which are not interested in issues like health, education, environment, poverty eradication and sustainable development as they are only concerned about profits.
How a global economic system tilted in favour of the super-rich can deliver, he said, adding that our government should discourage indirect taxation and promote direct tax to provide relief to the poor masses.
