Staff Reporter
KARACHI: SMEs and small traders associations representatives putting an allegation on Karachi Chamber that they are not addressing core issues of the business community as well as violating the trade Ordinance Act.
These views were expressed by Chairman All City Traders Ittehad Association, (Registered) Muhammad Sharjeel Goplani in a meeting with various business leaders and industrialists of Karachi in which Chairman Al Karachi Grocers Wholesale Association Rauf Ibrahim, former Vice President FPCCI – Mohammed Arshad Jamal and other business community leaders and traders were also present to addressed their grievance on KCCI monopoly .
Sharjeel Goplani said that Karachi Chamber has taken all kinds of unnecessary steps to stop the election process in the past years. Due to which elections cannot be held. They have continued the musical chair from many years i.e today is your turn, tomorrow is my turn. The fee for participating in the election has been fixed at Rs.50,000 so that the small businessmen stay away from the election.
Sharjeel Goplani said that election is a process of improvement in any society. We will try our best to bring new energetic people to lead the business community in KCCI. We have the Karachi’s street power and having strength to breakdown the monopoly of a particular group. Due to their monopoly certain a powerful group has become billionaires.
Goplani quoted the example of Sialkot Chamber, which has played its leading role in the economy of the country established Sialkot Airline and laid down the foundation of the Sialkot airport, while playing an important role in city’s infrastructure in constructing hospitals and schools also ,having emphasis on Corporate philanthropy.
Moreover he said that Faisalabad Chamber has promoted the industry very much and worked a lot in the best interest of traders.
Other Business chambers of the country have given priority to small traders while Karachi Chamber want to stay away from small businessmen and membership rules are not followed and having un constitutional body since from 2013 added by Former Vice President FPCCI Mohammed Arshad Jamal.
He appealed to the businessmen of Karachi to participate fully in this election, so that they can play their full role to change system. He said that business community of Karachi will take every possible step in this election to change this system.
KCCI senior official Abdul Satar gave his version that election process is in progress and election schedule has been announced.
Other leaders of the business community of Karachi who attended this meeting, included: Muhammad Ahmed Shamsi (General Secretary Mariot Road), Yaqoob Bali (Senior Vice President All City Traders Ittehad Association), Faisal Jan Kabir (President All City Tradesmen Ittehad Association), Syed Muhammad Saeed (Vice Chairman All City Tradesmen Ittehad Association), Zahid Amin (President All City Tradesmen Ittehad Association), Tariq Mumtaz (Vice President All City Tradesmen Ittehad Association), Hafiz Mohammad Tayyab Haseeb Akhlaq, Chaudhry Ayub, Atif Sheikh, Aslam Qureshi, Usman Siddiqui (Finance Secretary All City Traders Ittehad Association), Zafar Khan (Korangi Bachat Bazar), Muhammad Zubair Ali Khan (Joint Secretary All City Traders Ittehad Association), Fayyaz Abu Bakar, Shahid Butt (Convener Korangi), Aslam Parvez, Younis Bachu (Spokesperson All Pakistan Anjuman Traders), Muhammad Ismail Lalpuria, Rauf Ibrahim (Chairman All Karachi Grocers Association), Arshad Jamal (former Vice President FPCCI), Rashid Khan (Chairman Kalfatan Traders Union) and many other members of traders and industrialists community.