|
First Finance, Then Renovation
 |
|
Abbas Taleghani; Wood Industries Expert |
At
present, the utmost need of the country’s industries as the main driving force
behind job creation and economic prosperity is shortage of liquidity. As long
as the need of the industrial sector has not been met through various methods,
some of which would be explained below, nobody could be optimistic about
large-scale development projects for the sector.
During
recent years that liquidity has accumulated in such fields as commercial and
brokerage activities for various reasons, the industrial sector is in dire
straights and legal and systematic expectations of governmental organs from
the sector have added to its misery. Various pressures for exacting insurance
fees, taxes and duties from the sector as well as obliging industrialists to
repay loans extended by banks to promote their production activities, has
brought the industry to the brink of a full-blown crisis. On the other hand,
under conditions prevailing immediately after the end of the Iraqi imposed
war, the industrial sector was spared the much needed support that it was
badly in need of.
Experiences gained in post-war Japan proved how the industrial sector in
war-torn Japan was boosted to the position of an important industrial country
through perseverance and hard work of the Japanese industrialists, on the one
hand, and by considering various kinds of exemptions as well as governmental
finance, on the other hand. Our industrial sector was also in need of similar
supports. Now a new plan has been considered for the renovation of the Iranian
industrial sector. It should be noted that only when an all-out liquidity
shortage crisis engulfs the sector that one can talk about renovation or
similar projects.
The
industrial sector is founded on four main pillars, that is, machinery,
manpower, raw materials and capital. Shortage in any of the above factors
would lead to stagnation of the industrial activities. At present, the
industrial sector is facing severe liquidity shortage. Therefore, while
attending to this problem, other problems of the industrial sector should be
rapidly addressed. For example, mechanisms should be thought for repayment of
the industrial sector’s liabilities in return for various duties, taxes,
insurance and bank facilities; so that, the sector would be invigorated and
capable of organizing its payments in addition to contributing to the
country’s prosperity. The fact that bank facilities including loans have not
been used correctly in some instances and there have been profiteering, need
adequate study; so that, honest producers that can account for a large part of
the country’s non-oil exports would not come to harm.
In short,
in view of the dilapidated machinery and the old systems governing the
industrial sector, industrial renovation is a must in our country. However,
the first priority would be to solve the problem of liquidity shortage in the
sector because no renovation plan would work for an industrial sector that is
short of money. |
