‘Bad governance is the problem’ Page 1 of 1

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‘Bad governance is the problem’

Javed Mirza Saturday, February 08, 2014
Syed Farukh Mazhar, managing director of SGS Pakistan and president of Korangi Association of Trade and Industry, says that
Pakistan is the goldmine of opportunities, resources, fertile land and mineral-rich mountains and plains but bad governance remains a
problem. Mazhar in a recent interview to The News highlighted issues related to certification programmes.
Q. What strategies will you advise to bring economic turnaround?
A. Pakistan’s economic woes are due to the bad governance, which is also keeping foreign investors away. The rulers through
governance sans wisdom and patriotism made this beautiful and rich country a land of beggars. Their incompetency has caused all the
problems, particularly bad law and order situation. Our country earnestly needs an honest leader to bring the country out of the crisis. A
leader is the one who guides the nation, gives sense of direction and puts the country on the right track. Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan is the
best example during the modern time – who brought his country out of wood and put it to the path of progress and prosperity.
Q. What are main issues facing industry?
A. Presently, it’s become real hard to keep the business running. Besides many challenges, poor law and order situation has become
the biggest challenge. It seems that the rulers have no solution to any of the problems, crisis after crisis, and rendered no efforts to
resolve the issues except taking inane decisions like the one to shut down the cellular network whenever they smell a rat.
Q. Are you happy with the quality of education especially the business graduates we are producing?
A. There are very few quality business institutions in Pakistan and we don’t see any institution of a class in public sector though it’s
government responsibility to establish such institutions in order to produce world class managers. It’s just not possible for a common
person to afford fee starting from $10,000 for his son to become MBA.
Q. What do International Organization for Standardization certification programmes mean for manufacturers, services companies, etc.?
A. SGS ICS (International Certification Services) is committed to the practical implementation of international standards throughout
industry. Our services include certification training against standards, such as ISO 9000 series, ISO 14001, EMAS, QS-9000, VDA 6.1,
SCC (equivalent to VCA in Netherlands), BS 7799, ISA 2000, SA 8000, HACP, SQF 2000 to name a few. For the industrial groups,
certification agencies offer ISO 9000 and ISO 14000 certification services. ISO 9000 certification is awarded to the group or industry,
which develop and implement quality management system within the organisation. On the other hand, ISO 14000-certification applies to
those industries or groups that develop and implement environmental management system within the organisation head. The
implementation or the adaptation varies from group to group. One group, which is designing its product, manufacturing/producing, and
dispatching it, qualifies for ISO 9001, whereas one group/industry, which is manufacturing according to the customer’s requirement,
qualifies for ISO 9002.
Q. How many Pakistani companies have qualified for such certificates?
A. The concept of quality consciousness has been changed a lot during the last few years and people have tried to adopt this system.
In Pakistan, so far about 1,200 companies have successfully been certified to ISO management systems and this rate is increasing at a
constant pace, which shows that people have adapted the cultural change, which is really helping finding efficient ways of carrying out
businesses.
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