Meet-up: A lesson or two for politicians in the Pepsi-Coke relationship

“Knowing when to fight and when to collaborate with one’s competitor is a sign of leadership’s maturity,” says Ahsan Iqbal. PHOTO: PID/FILE

KARACHI: If Pakistan was a ‘cola turf’ instead of a country, Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal would like political parties to imitate Pepsi and Coca-Cola.

According to Iqbal, Pakistan’s political leadership has gradually matured to the point where they compete fiercely among themselves, but collaborate fully when it comes to warding off threats from non-political forces.

“Knowing when to fight and when to collaborate with one’s competitor is a sign of leadership’s maturity,” he said while addressing the CEO Summit Asia 2013 on Wednesday.

An MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Iqbal has taught management at business schools for many years. No wonder his speech was peppered with anecdotes from global corporate giants like Apple and Blackberry to local players like Engro and Nestle.

“The elite class was withdrawn and didn’t want to engage back in 1999. But today, from ordinary people to the elite, everyone is willing to embrace change,” he said while describing the change that Pakistani society has undergone in the last decade.

Following the unanimous support that the 18th, 19th and 20th amendments to the constitution received from all parties, he said the entire political leadership of the country resolved on November 22 that they will not drift away from Vision 2025 – a holistic reform programme — no matter which party holds sway in parliament.

Don’t blame the government

Board of Investment Chairman Mohammad Zubair found himself on the receiving end of scathing criticism from the country’s top corporate executives during a panel discussion on “Corporate governance for growth”.

“Don’t be quick to blame the government. The private sector may think the government is inept, but with all its limitations, the government is trying its best to overcome problems,” Zubair said when panellists questioned him about the slow pace of the privatisation process.

Although he did not name any institution, Zubair implied the privatisation process is slow because of excessive scrutiny that it receives from various quarters. With an implied reference to the upcoming change of guards in the superior judiciary, he asked people to wait patiently for a week or so before major developments could be announced regarding the privatisation of state-owned enterprises.

Zubair claimed that every minister of privatisation since the early 1990s has either gone to jail or had cases registered against him.

“But ironically,” remarked Elixir Securities CEO Junaid Iqbal, who moderated the panel discussion, “nearly all privatisation deals have turned those loss-making entities into profitable companies that now employ even a larger number of people.”