ISLAMABAD, Jan 20 (APP):Prime Minister Imran Khan, in order to provide relief to common man and ease of doing business to small traders, Monday directed the provincial governments to abolish the system of different licenses for business activities at local government level.
Calling for the abolition of 74 different licenses, he also directed the provincial governments to simplify the procedure of required licenses and introduce an automated system by using modern technology.
The prime minister directed the provincial governments to complete the process of abolishing unnecessary licenses within three days.
During the meeting about licensing regime in the provinces, the prime minister was told that in the current system the businessmen were required to obtain around 150 different licenses from metropolitan and municipal corporations, town committees and other institutions.
Complaints of corruption, bribery and harassment of small traders were very common in the licensing system, he was told.
The prime minister, while expressing his serious concern over the complicated licensing regime, said as the condition of licenses for small grocery, cloth and `Kulcha’ (bread) shops was tantamount to creating difficulties for common man, such 74 unnecessary licenses should immediately be eliminated.
He directed to introduce technology based automated system, where inspection was required, so as not only to simplify the system but also to eliminate the trends of corruption, bribery and harassment.
The prime minister, while taking serious notice of the hardships faced by the masses in the Federal Capital due to significant increase in the municipal services’ fees, also directed the institutions concerned to remove the people’s reservations and revisit the raise.
