‘Sindh govt should have transferred powers to local bodies’

The provincial government should have transferred municipal powers to the local government institutions before holding the local bodies polls, Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair has said.

“Why were local government representatives made a part of the electoral process when now they don’t even have the power to lift garbage from the city,” questioned Zubair while speaking at a prize distribution ceremony at the Tamooria Library in North Nazimabad on Thursday night. The ceremony was organised in collaboration with District Municipal Corporation Central for a Skill Development Centre.

“I stand with Rehan Hashmi and his fellow local bodies’ representatives on the issue of powers not transferred to local government institutions,” said the governor, referring to the chairman of DMC Central who was also present on the occasion. The governor termed the district “the heart of Karachi” because it is home to a large number of highly-educated people in the city.

‘Mega projects’

Speaking about the various mega-projects initiated for Karachi, Zubair said almost all of them, including the green line bus system, K-IV water supply line for the city and the Lyari Expressway, were either completed or in their final stages.

The governor further said that Karachi had always been the city which progresses at a faster rate but certain unscrupulous elements had been keeping it back. He added that now developmental and educational activities were once again being revived in the city, but it is imperative that peace remain intact to encourage more such activities.

Reiterating his oft-repeated statement about law and order, Zubair claimed that that peace had returned to Karachi owing to the steps taken by the incumbent federal government of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz – the party he is a member of.

According to the governor, the city was about to regain its past glory owing to the improved law and order situation which can gauged from the recently-held final of the Pakistan Super League.

The governor further said that the quota system for government job vacancies had ruined Sindh in general and Karachi in particular. “The stakeholders of Karachi raised a righteous voice on the issue of quota system but the move should have been continued as steps should have been taken to abolish this system,” he said.

A bright future for Karachi means a bright future for the entire country as Karachi is its economic hub, the governor said. “The future of Pakistan is linked with the progress of Karachi.”

He added that the educated youth of Karachi had played an important role in the past in the development of the city and ultimately the entire country, and urged young people to do the same now. Pakistan has secured a distinctive position among the international community owing to its fast growing economy, he stated.