HASSAN ABBAS

LAHORE: The study conducted by Forman Christian College University suggested that mayors of Lahore can easily make their federation. They can also easily develop trade ties with traders and citizens groups to make trade play its role in social development. They can also reduce the transaction cost of business by supplying institutions and ways of dispute resolution and contract enforcement. It is easy for the mayors to promote entrepreneurship in their cities. Mayors can also convince traders to pay taxes and partner with the government on the issues of prices, safety, security and innovation. It is easy for local governments to support informal economy by providing spaces to the vendors at adequate places in their cities. The local government has stakes in improving trade.

The report “Improving Trade in Lahore Region” by Imdad Hussain published by Centre for Public Policy and Good Governance of the university suggested that the local political leaders can play very useful role in improving trade using the provisions of Punjab Local Government Act, 2013.

Therefore, it is suggested that Punjab government should encourage industries, commerce and investment development to develop liaison with chambers of commerce, Lahore Development Authority and local governments to experiment with our suggestions and help the upcoming local governments in taking full charge of the governance of trade within their jurisdictions. It is not difficult to make experiments in collaboration with the various stakeholders.

Government urged to devolve tax decisions at local level. The third prerequisite is spatial. It urged the government and the local government in Lahore region to ensure provision of adequate amount of land for commercial purposes across the cities of Lahore. It also urged government to provide land for commercial purposes adjacent to the big markets. The fourth prerequisite is environmental. It urged government to reduce environmental implications of trade.

The purpose behind writing this paper was to find ways to lessen and where possible to eliminate barriers in the way of trade in the Lahore region. For the purpose of this study, Lahore region means an economic region including Lahore, Muridke, Kamoke, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Nankana Sahib, Faisalabad and Kasur. Strong trade ties exist between Lahore and other cities. Working to remove barriers to trade at regional level is likely to create great opportunities for social and economic development of the Lahore region.

The study highlights number of problems faced by the markets in the Lahore region. The main problems of the markets in the region included poor physical and utility infrastructure, lack of availability of credit, inadequate contract enforcement mechanism, limited availability of alternative dispute resolution, unavailability of trade related information to the aspiring entrepreneurs and poor logistics.