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Govt to promote small industry for poverty alleviation

PESHAWAR: Small-Scale industries are playing it vital role in the alleviation of poverty and the present government is giving top priority to its promotion.

This was disclosed by NWFP Minister for Information, Education, Tourism and Culture, Syed Imtiaz Hussain Gilani while addressing the international workshop on the eve of "small-Scale industry in the alleviation of poverty" at Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Museum of Archaeology, University of Peshawar, the workshop was organised by the Department of Economics, University of Peshawar.

He said that like other areas of endeavour our development policy also has lost sight and suffered from confusion. He said that during the past 52 years of our efforts to develop industry, showed that we did something wrong and that is why poverty increased and now due to this reason majority of our people are living below the poverty line and the growth of industries also suffered.

He said that we have created a small class of the very rich people and the poor became poorer therefore poverty has risen, it can only be reduced by making tremendous efforts for the development of our small-scale industry.

He said that if the entrepreneurs are provided credit facilities to build huge manufacturing industries by this activity, the economic activity would be generated, job opportunities would be created for the jobless and every one would be benefited.

He said that our country has rich entrepreneurs but on the other hand having sick industries were creating poor workers. Meanwhile we have an accumulated debt of around 60 million dollars therefore we must change our outlook and create an atmosphere where human needs are fulfilled.

He said that the present government under a comprehensive programme has chalked out the strategies in order to build and design effective development programmes as centres of production. He said that single monopolists enterprises with captive market go bankrupt, while PIA, Railways, Pakistan Steel are totally collapsed during the past 52 years. He said that the government is encouraging the small-scale entrepreneurs and providing them the facilities of free market competition so that they could sell their products without any exaggeration.

Earlier Vice-Chancellor Peshawar University, Dr Qasim Jan and other speakers also highlighted the aims and objectives of the small-scale industries in the province.ÑAPP