Garbage removal doesn’t require any special powers, says former mayor

Mustafa Kamal lashes out at his successor

Waseem Akhtar, claims citizens being fooled

Former mayor of Karachi lashed out at his successor on Sunday, saying that one did not need any special powers to remove garbage from the city’s streets.

Ex-nazim Mustafa Kamal told The News that Mayor Waseem Akhtar had all the authority he required to collect the tonnes of garbage rotting across the city.

Kamal heads the Pak Sarzameen Party, which was formed after differences developed within the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) following the 2013 general elections, while Akhtar is a part of the MQM-Pakistan (MQM-P), which was formed in August last year after Dr Farooq Sattar and other party leaders and workers distanced themselves from MQM founder Altaf Hussain.

The former mayor expressed surprise when he was asked what kind of powers the nazim of the city needed to remove garbage piled on the streets.

Kamal said Akhtar needed no special powers. “His ‘Kundi’ men alone can carry out this job. They are receiving salaries so they can clear the streets of all the garbage, which has made the lives of the people of the city miserable.”

All kinds of staff are available for removing garbage, he said. “They have all the funds they need but they are making a fool out of the poor citizens.”

He added that they had staff that could be deployed at night to pick up the garbage off the streets of the city. “This was regular practice in the past for removing garbage.”

The ex-mayor also mentioned a department that could be utilised for garbage removal. He then accused the chairmen of the city’s district municipal corporations of issuing illegal contracts and of minting money off of them.

He said the local government was providing them with funds from the Annual Development Programme and the octroi & zila tax, adding that the entire Karachi Metropolitan Corporation was being disbursed salaries on a regular basis.

He claimed that Mayor Akhtar had raised the issue of lack of powers only to avoid the responsibility of removing garbage from the city’s streets. “Hard work and sincere efforts need to be put in to help the poor citizens.”

On December 1 last year Sattar and Akhtar had launched a 100-day cleanliness campaign for Karachi. MQM-P leaders inaugurated the ‘Hamara Karachi’ drive by sweeping the streets in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Shah Faisal Colony and Korangi. MNAs, MPAs and Korangi District Chairman Nayyar Raza also accompanied them.

Amir Khan, the party’s deputy chief, kicked off the campaign in Liaquatabad Town, as other leaders and workers participated in cleaning the streets and sewage lines in different parts of the city.

Sattar stressed that the uplift programme was beyond politics. “We shall serve the city without any discrimination,” he said, adding that sports events, including City Olympics, would be organised during the drive.

He claimed that the Sindh government of the Pakistan Peoples Party had usurped the mayor’s rights by holding up the local government.

Echoing Sattar’s allegation, Akhtar said the federal and provincial administrations had repeatedly been approached for assistance but to no avail. The mayor visited different localities to monitor the first day of the drive.

Akhtar also visited Idara Noor-e-Haq, the Jamaat-e-Islami’s headquarters, as part of his efforts to bring all religious and political parties on board for the city’s development.

Referring to the JI’s experience of the local government and the city’s issues, the mayor expressed hope that the party would work with them for the city’s benefit.