Sindh SoED.pdf - IUCN - Pakistan

Sindh State ofEnvironment &Development228Manufacturing SectorThe manufacturing sector is one of the mainstakeholders. Smuggled imported goods, tariffrates, and lower quality products providedthrough the informal sector challenge it. Theborder police and customs officials are alsostakeholders because they promote smugglingby receiving bribes from the undergroundeconomy.Small Investors in the InformalSectorSmall investors in the informal sector have thecapital and know-how for production but theyare not recognised by the State. Theirbusinesses are located in unauthorised sitesand many of them are not under the tax net ofthe government, using domestic utilities forcommercial production.Other StakeholdersThere are a number of other stakeholders aswell, such as manufacturers in small industries,the Export Promotion Bureau, labour unions,voluntary organisations of the arthi and baypari,and academic institutions that train personnel inthe disciplines required for the development,administration and management of theindustrial sector.FUTURE ACTIONFuture action includes: the need for identifyinglocations for units that have adequate provisionof industrial infrastructure includingmaintenance facilities; making sure that thepolicies are forward looking; consolidating thegains of industrialisation in production ofconsumer goods; attending to the brick-andmortartechnologies that weave in the productof one with the input of the other; launching abroad based programme for making theprocess self-reliant; arresting the irritants thatare responsible for the slow down inindustrialisation and environmental pollutionand attending to deficiencies.Faulty federal government policies account forthe deterioration of industrial production.Revenue collected from the industriesestablished in the province is not ploughedback into upgrading the infrastructure of theindustry or the industrial estate concerned,which is why it is in shambles. It is necessaryfor the industrial estates to be financiallyautonomous so that they have the authority torepair and maintain not only the physical butalso the industrial infrastructure.The role of the informal sector needs to berecognised, particularly given that almost 50percent of the industrial production emanatesfrom there. This sector must be upgraded andallotted the status of a production system.Serious attempts should be made to relocatethe productive units in planned estates andfinance their advancement through small andmedium enterprise development schemes.Action also needs to be taken on improving thequality of Pakistani products and inducing localindustrialists to patronise Pakistani machinery.The system of quality assurance through ISOcertification should become mandatory for allunits including those in the informal sector.Industrial planning has been ad-hoc andinconsistent. To set things right, the provincemust initiate actions to devolve the power ofgoverning the affairs of the industrial estate toeither an autonomous industrial estate authorityor an industrial estate association. The authorityor association could be charged with theresponsibility of upgrading its status andenlarging the scope of activity from a provider ofphysical infrastructure to one that provides acomplete list of industrial infrastructureincluding pollution control. It should see to it thateach component is adequately funded; andappoint a monitoring team to see to it that thefunds are appropriately utilised for the intendedpurpose.There is a good chance that by following thissequence, the industrial estates may providethe investor with the much needed one-windowoperation.Sindh has the steel mill but it does not processindigenous ore or coal. Iron ore of good qualityis available in Balochistan, while plenty of coal