Listening to Islamabad mayor

The mayor is supposed to be the most important man when it comes to taking decisions about the outlook and uplift of the city. This, unfortunately, is not the case in Islamabad and it seems that we use the mayor as a dustbin which we consign our failures to.

The recent mounting of garbage piles at every nook and cranny of the city catapulted Islamabad Mayor Shiekh Ansar from the hollows of oblivion to prominence. After a marathon five-hour meeting, he was able to wrestle salaries of sanitation workers from different departments and put these protesting workers to work.

In an exclusive interview, he told me that he plans to hire an international firm to keep the city clean. Sitting against the background of his photos with PML-N leaders and the souvenirs he won for his services, he looked like a picture of defiance and determination.

He said tenders for two solid waste management sites at Sangjani and Chak Beli have already been floated. “At the start of my tenure as mayor of the federal capital three years ago, I launched the clean and green campaign and I also own the campaign that this government has launched now. I work beyond political affiliations I work only for the betterment of the city,” he said.

He said last year the municipality planted 500,000 trees and this year its aim is 700,000 trees.

“All this we do from our own resources. The ministries or the city administration officials come and get pictured planting trees. But you will find that in every such function, municipality staff is working and our gardeners are planting the trees. But nobody is ready to give us credit,” he said.

He said the town municipality has been facing many problems. “We have not yet been transferred the departments of finance and budget; hence, our hands are tied. I cannot even hire secretary. Even then we are delivering services,” he said.

About the zoo that Climate Change Ministry has taken over from the municipal administration, he said it is wrong. “The zoo requires Rs100 million for its maintenance every month and we were given only Rs20 million. We did our best. Now the ministry will be issued adequate funds and things will be OK. I ask why did they not issue us funds?” he said.

He said when he had dual charge as the CDA head and the city mayor, he contributed to building and maintenance of three hundred kilometres of roads in Islamabad.

He said in developed countries, the office of the mayor is very strong which is why their cities are liveable. In Islamabad, this office has been made controversial less for political and more for bureaucratic reasons.

He said the mayor is supposed to welcome and see off state guests. The government is better advised to take advantage from the experience of the mayor and utilize his talent. Islamabad should not be left to the likes and dislikes of personalities. Rather, if someone is able to bring about a change, he should be given a chance to do so.