As PA welcomes mayor, opposition demands empowered local govts

Waseem Akhtar says Karachi has seen plenty of security action,

now needs development plan

As the lawmakers welcomed the arrival of Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar in the provincial assembly’s guests’ gallery on Friday, two days after his release from jail, the opposition lawmakers called for empowering the “powerless” local government system and maintained that they could act as a bridge for devolving authority from the powerful provincial government to the municipal system.

Warmly welcoming the arrival of the city’s mayor in the House, opposition leader Khawaja Izhar-ul-Hassan of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement said it was Akhtar’s desire that after becoming mayor he visited the assembly of which he had remained a member for a long time and had also served as the local government and home minister.

He appealed to the Sindh government to empower the mayor as the credit for Karachi’s development would go to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, the captain of the provincial set-up.

“We [the opposition MPAs] are neither part of the local government nor the provincial government but we can act as a bridge between the two as on one side there is a powerful government while on the other side there is powerless one. To empower the local government, we are ready to act as a bridge,” said the opposition leader.

Earlier, speaker Agha Siraj Khan Durrani also welcomed Akhtar to the gallery. He quipped that Akhtar had become smarter after spending time in jail. “Everybody gets smarter after spending time in jail,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, parliamentary affairs minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro said Sindh had witnessed local government elections after a long gap. He added that the provincial government had never created hurdles in the passage of the local government system bill.

“We adopted a law for strengthening local government system in the province. When objections came, then legislation was carried out to enact a second law. There is no debate here for an empowered or powerless government and a law passed by the provincial assembly on municipal powers exists,” Khuhro said referring to the local government law adopted by the province in 2013 and the one in the previous year.

“The government will not cause obstruction in transferring powers to the local government. The local government will be empowered as per law.”

He said that from 2008 to 2013, no other province had shown as much progress in setting up a local government system as Sindh had.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf MPA Samar Ali Khan hoped that the basic issues of the people would be resolved through the present local government system.

He also hoped that action would be taken against the city’s land mafia, particularly the people involved “China-cutting”.

 

Local govt minister’s stance

Local government minister Jam Khan Shoro said in the House that the municipal institutions of the province were ruined in such a manner in the past that they were unable to pay their electricity bills and disburse salaries to their employees.

Responding to the points of order raised by opposition lawmakers, the minister said at present, the provincial government was taking steps to rectify the municipal system.

MQM lawmakers Dilawar Qureshi and Sabir Hussain Qaimkhani said because of the lingering controversy between the Water and Sanitation Authority and the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company, water was unavailable to the people of Hyderabad even on important occasions including Eid and Muharram.

The MQM lawmakers said the government should also instruct Hesco to stop suspending power to the entire city at the same time.

They noted that the citizens of Hyderabad were receiving unfiltered water and cases of contagious diseases including hepatitis were on the rise in the city because of their problem.

The MPAs said the governing body of the Hyderabad Development Authority was yet to be established and the chief minister should concentrate on addressing the issues of the city.

Responding to them, the local government minister said there was a longstanding unresolved controversy between Hesco and Wasa over unpaid dues.

He said that number of water filtration plants was being increased in Hyderabad.

He added that a 36-inch diameter pipeline was being laid in Hussainabad and Latifabad areas of Hyderabad so that issue of water shortage city could be resolved.

He said a special grant for HDA had been released so that salaries could be disbursed to its employees.

 

Resolution

The Sindh Assembly unanimously passed a resolution of a treasury lawmaker for giving sanctioned government jobs to candidates who had passed the Combined Competitive Examinations, 2013 of the province.

The resolution presented was presented by MPA Syed Awais Qadir Shah of the Pakistan People’s Party. It stated that prospective candidates for government jobs had passed the competitive exams of 2013, conducted by Sindh Public Service Commission, and also appeared in interviews and passed both the stages and now they should be employed.

Transport facilities

Transport minister Nasir Hussain Shah said the provincial government was negotiating with a Chinese company for the introduction of modern public transport facilities in form of new buses in the entire province.

Responding to a call-attention notice of an opposition lawmaker, the minister said the government was planning to launch 14,000 new buses in the province in collaboration with a prospective Chinese company. Of them, 4,000 buses will be run in Karachi.

He said in the first stage, a fleet of 500 public buses would be launched in Karachi.

The minister added that his department was negotiating the Chinese firm to install its assembling plant in the province so that buses could be manufactured indigenously.

The House referred a proposed legislation – the Sindh Prohibition of Sheesha Smoking Bill, 2016 - to the standing committee concerned for further consideration.

 

City mayor media talk 

Karachi mayor Waseem Akhtar said on Friday that it was time to focus on a “Karachi Development Plan” after implementing the National Action Plan and conducting a crackdown against criminals in the city.

“We have seen the National Action Plan and the Karachi operation and it is high time that a targeted development plan too should be conceived for Karachi as the infrastructure of the city is on the verge of destruction and citizens are facing immense problems,” he told reporters after meeting speaker Agha Siraj Khan Durrani in his chamber during his visit to Sindh Assembly.

He said that Karachi direly required a development package.

He added that after its development, Karachi would no longer require a National Action Plan or an operation.

The mayor said the problems of Karachi would be addressed taking all political parties concerned on board and negotiations would be held with the Sindh government too for the city’s development.

The mayor said he wanted to visit the Sindh Assembly before assuming his responsibilities as mayor and he was thankful to the members of the assembly for warmly welcoming his arrival in the House.

Akhtar conceded that he was a strict disciplinarian, especially when it came to the matters of Karachi as citizens were facing troubles.

“Have Malir and Gadap become Paris? Karachi needs development and progress in Karachi means progress in the entire province,” he added.

He said it was time to move on from calling others traitors.

He said several hopes were pinned on the Sindh chief minister. “We are hopeful that we will work with the political parties for addressing the issues of Karachi,” he added. Speaking about the Pakistan People’s Party chairman, he said Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was the son of a great woman who had laid down her life for the cause of democracy.

“Bilawal was born in Karachi, his parents married in Karachi, and I am thankful to him as he had raised his voice for my release,” he added.