The politics of chambers

According to Dawn, the Businessmen's Group (BMG) decisively won last week's Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) elections, taking both the 30-member managing committee and the four-member leadership body. Its rival, the Businessmen's Association (BMA), put up candidates for only 26 of the committee seats, the paper said. The newly elected leadership, headed by Talat Mahmood, now has to represent a business community varied in size, industry and ethnic background.

Dawn's report puts KCCI membership at about 26,500, with roughly 16,000 members able to vote this year. Insiders say the top offices once rotated among three language groups, each free to nominate its own candidate, but that this freedom has since eroded, alienating many members. Most members and leaders the paper approached saw no clear gap between BMG and BMA on agenda or policy. The paper also contrasts Karachi's fragmented governance with Sialkot, where the business community has financed a dry port, roads and an international airport.

Former Pakistan Business Council chief Ehsan Malik described Karachi's problem as a collective-action issue, citing its fragmented authorities and the free-rider problem. Majyd Aziz of the Employers Federation of Pakistan credited Sialkot's cohesion, export focus and self-reliance for its results. Shariq Vohra defended BMG as diverse and inclusive, saying the chamber mostly speaks for traders and small manufacturers.