We have to give a better country to next generation, says Wahab

Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Tuesday said the Pakistani nation faced a huge challenge of restoring the areas affected by rains and floods with dedication and courage. He said that this spirit of resilience would change the economic conditions of the country and lead it to prosperity.

Wahab was addressing a seminar on ‘Resilient and Gender-inclusive Sustainable Housing in Sindh’ organised by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) and the Sindh Peoples Housing for Flood Affectees (SPHF).

The mayor said Karachi has also bravely faced difficulties and trials in every era. He said that the worst flood situation allowed us to work together and ensure the rehabilitation of the affected people as soon as possible. We have to give a better and stable country to the next generation, he added.

He also said the agricultural sector was badly affected during the last flood in the country, with 85 per cent of the rural area being submerged. It was decided that we deal with this huge loss through the best strategy and make the recovery of the affected people as soon as possible through the involvement of other institutions, he added.

Wahab said that at that time no one thought about how difficult and patient the redevelopment process of these areas would be, and how the provincial government would be able to do such a big job on its own.

Non-governmental organisations helped us collect data and ensured that the funds allocated for the rehabilitation of the affected people were spent only on the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the damaged infrastructure, he added.

He said that along with this, the provincial government continued the process of cultivation of crops, which brought the situation under control. Rehabilitation of the victims is going on with the cooperation of the government and the private sector, and for this we are grateful to our donors, he added.

He also said the people of Thar enthusiastically welcomed Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, so the party’s performance can be estimated from this.

“We will go to the next election based on our work and manifesto. Instead of protests and sit-ins, we need to look at the larger interest of the country, in which everyone benefits and adopts the same policy.”

National Commission on the Status of Women Secretary Khawaja Imran Raza said on the occasion that providing stable, sustainable and gender-friendly housing to the residents of the flood-affected areas in Sindh is an important responsibility that must be fulfilled with the cooperation of the relevant UN mission and other institutions.

UNOPS Country Manager Brian Fawcett said UNOPS Pakistan believes in gender equality. “We hope this seminar will play an important role in increasing the gender equality factor in housing projects in Pakistan, thereby achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Fawcett said they are fully cooperating with the government’s planning and implementation measures in this regard, adding that the participation of government officials in the seminar would help complete the project in a better way.

He said rehabilitation of the flood-affected areas is a big task that the government alone cannot accomplish, so we have to go for private sector financing, and all stakeholders should be included in the consultation and implementation process. The seminar was also attended by SPHF Chief Executive Officer Muhammad Khalid as well as representatives of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority and other institutions.