Though the Global Competitiveness Report 2015 has improved Pakistan’s rating by three points, bringing it to 126th position from 129th last year in the list of 140 countries, it regards corruption as the most problematic factor for doing business in the country. The report says that failure of the government to improve regulatory bodies also remains an area of concern for more effective and efficient governance. A delay in introducing structural reforms is hindering productivity at every stage while lack of utilization of entrepreneurial talent causes unemployment besides bulldozing the efforts to raise living standard of the citizens.
On the positive side, the report says that the government has improved the burden of regulations to 86 in 2015 from 103 in 2014 and budget balance percentage of the GDP from106th position to 28th this year. However, quality of education has improved, but Internet access in schools has been lowered from 89 in 2014 to 103 this year. There are signs of improvement in the fields of direct foreign investment, technology transfer and purchase of high-tech gadgets. The report also highlights widening gap between multiple education systems in the country which could become snowball in the future. The report says that judicial independence has lost its rank to 82 in 2015 from 67 last year.
Pakistan lost dozens of points under the heads of market efficiency and corporate activities while the performance of the Competition Commission of Pakistan has gone from bad to worse in 2015 — from 85 in 2014 to 106. The report says that various regulatory bodies have poor performance and weak governance, losing ranks to other emerging markets in the region and elsewhere. In overall, the country has lost most of the positive signs, lowering its ranks in various fields. The Accountant General of Pakistan has gone from the last year’s rank of 90 to 117 in 2015. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan had gained success in the last few years, but it lost 42 points, bring it to 93 as compared to 71 in 2014 among 140 countries of the world.
According to the report, there is a close link between competitiveness and ability of the economy to nurture, attract, leverage and support talent. If the present government wants to develop this country as it claims, it has to improve quality of education and quality of goods and services. Relying solely on labour intensive economy will not be beneficial for the country. The global economy is showing mixed trends, as some economies are already developed, others are developing and some are still underdeveloped. Pakistan is on the threshold of economic boom and it is the government which must tap the available resources and put the country on the path of development.