Free trade zone manufacturers express concerns on prolonged national catastrophe

• Call for appointment of caretaker govt. and experts to overcome economic and political turmoil

The Free Trade Zone Manufacturers’ Association (FTZMA) reiterated its concerns on the prolonged national catastrophe in the economy and asserted the need for measures to move forward, so the business community can stay afloat.

The association said it fully understands the hardships and immense pressure the people of the country are facing and stands in solidarity with their call to ensure a stable government with a progressive economy that would deliver a better standard of living for the people in the country.

“In response to the growing demand of the citizens for the president and Parliament to step down, which may be an ultimate solution, we strongly feel that there is a dire need to move forward with the IMF engagement and restructure the debt-paying processes to stabilise the country’s economy and administration system,” the FTXMA said in a statement to the media yesterday.

It asserted the need for the executive and legislature and all political parties to extend support at this juncture. It went on to urge all parties to be devoid of any actions that could further disrupt the country’s economic and political stability.

Since the public is overwhelmingly rejecting the existing administration system, the FTZMA said it believes that all parties agree to appoint the experts, who can oversee the ongoing economic and financial turmoil under a new caretaker government.

By doing so, it would pave the way for such experts to take up appointments as the new members of the new Cabinet, which should then immediately negotiate with all multilateral financial institutions on debt restructuring and actively get involved in administering day-to-day affairs, the association said.

“...it is imperative that a proper mechanism should be brought in to resolve these multitude issues without further delay because export manufacturers are also risking lending and financing to secure their raw materials from overseas suppliers, due to the downgrading of the country’s credit ratings,” the FTZMA said.