Murad rejects allegations of PPP ignoring Karachi

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that those who are repeatedly levelling allegations that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led Sindh government has ignored Karachi have ‘defeated minds’.

Delivering his presidential address at an event organised by the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) at the Golf Club on Friday night, the CM said it hurt him seriously when someone said his government had been ignoring the city.

“I was born here [Karachi], grew here and received education here and played in the streets of this beautiful city,” he remarked.

The people of District Korangi did not vote for the PPP in the general elections, the CM said, adding that it was the people’s choice not to vote for his party and he felt alright with that.

He, however, claimed that what his government did for the uplift of Korangi was no secret. He said his government had constructed 12000 Road and 8000 Road in Korangi and work was under way on two bridges and a college in the district.

Now, I have taken up the cleaning work which originally was the job of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan-led District Municipal Corporation of the area, he said.

Citing examples of other areas from where the PPP did not get votes and yet carried out development projects, the CM said the provincial government had constructed the Malir 15 Bridge, reconstructed and widened the entire Sharea Faisal and remodeled Baloch Colony Flyover.

Shah said the people of Gulshan-e-Iqbal did not elect the PPP’s candidates but the PPP government in Sindh reconstructed University Road from Hassan Square to Nipa and from NED to Safoora Goth, and also constructed a road leading to Memon Hospital.

“If I start counting the development works, the PPP government has done or has been doing in this city it would take a long time,” Shah said and claimed that every citizen was a witness to the performance of his government.

The CM went on to say that it was his romance with the city that forced him every time to personally monitor the development, beautification and cleaning projects in Karachi.

“I am sure one day people would appreciate the PPP’s performance and completely reject those who had given them dead bodies in gunny bags, who destroyed future of their children and those who had made them hostage through hollow slogans,” he said. KMC funds

Shah maintained that the Sindh government provided around Rs15 billion to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) for development. He added that to further help the KMC, his government also paid the outstanding power bills of the corporation and the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board.

He said he had also given Rs550 million to the KMC for the cleaning of storm water drains and still some people were accusing him of ignoring Karachi.

Making a jibe at the MQM-P without naming it, the CM said whereas the PPP had never discriminated against Karachi, there were others who sowed the seeds of hatred in Karachi where earlier people of different religions and ethnicities were living peacefully, and trade was flourishing. He said those accusing him of being indifferent to the problems of Karachi should themselves feel ashamed of their past actions.

“You [MQM-P] were coalition partners of the federal government when the prime minister announced Rs165 billion package for the city. Where that money has gone?” he asked.

Garbage

He said the lifting of garbage and cleaning of the city was the responsibility of the DMCs and other civic agencies but the Sindh government was being blamed for their failure.

He said as the DMCs failed to perform their job, he decided to intervene to catch up on the backlog of the garbage so that the city could be cleaned once for all.

“I am surprised this is not acceptable to the people of defeated minds,” he said and added that those who were opposing him had started stuffing sewers with stones so that sewage spilled on roads. “Neither you want to work nor you let others work.”

It was with a heavy heart he imposed the Section 144 against open littering and throwing of garbage in the Karachi after which some arrests were made by the police, the CM said.

He also informed the event that under the public-private partnership mode, the provincial government had constructed the longest bridge on the Indus River and also built two important roads joining Thatta and Karachi, and Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas. The government had also undertaken to construct the Malir Expressway through partnership with the private sector, he said.

Shah said the success collaborations between the Sindh government and the private sector had also been recognised by a leading international magazine.

Centre’s criticism

The CM said the politicians had always served the country through their political vision and collective wisdom. “This is why the financial crisis has never emerged as seriously as it has occurred this time, because there is a lack of political wisdom and decision making,” he said.

Criticising the federal government, Shah said the revenue recoveries had improved every successive year in the country’s history only except this time when the revenue generation reduced compared to the previous year. He lamented that it badly affected the development projects of the provinces.

Shah said he had been urging the federal government to hand the task of the collection of sales tax on goods over to the provinces because the provincial governments were more close to the consumers. “We will collect [the sales tax] on your behalf,” he said and added this would increase the revenue collection manifold.

The CM said that under the federal government’s policies, the production of industrial units had decreased and unemployment was increasing, which had caused unrest in all the segments of society be them industrialists, government employees, businessmen, labourers, transporters or bankers.