Qaim wants swift resolution of FCS-KFHA dispute

Karachi
Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has directed chief secretary Mohammad Siddique Memon to give his decision soon on the dispute between Fishermen’s Cooperative Society (FCS) Karachi and the Karachi Fisheries Harbour Authority (KFHA) as soon as possible.
The chief minister also directed secretaries of fisheries, co-operative and law departments, besides the Sindh Advocate General to plead the government’s position in the Sindh High Court for the early disposal of a petition pending regarding the management of Fisherman’s Co-operative Society.
The chief minister issued these instructions while presiding over a meeting to resolve the matter pertaining to the FCS and harbour authority at the CM House on Monday.
Speaking on the occasion, he said export of fish was one of the major sources of earning foreign exchange and it was high time to develop the Karachi Fisheries Harbour Authority on modern lines to avail the benefit from the achieved status of Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP)-Plus of the European Union.
He said that KFHA should be developed up to the standard of European Union so that its exports are enhanced.
Sindh fisheries minister Jam Khan Shoro , secretary co-operative Inamullah Dharejo, secretary fisheries Noor Ahmed Leghari and registrar co-operative Ghulam Hussain Memon, while briefing the meeting said the matter regarding management of FCS was pending in the Sindh High Court because of a dispute between previous and present management committees. Similarly, they said, reservations of the KFHA for lack of implementation on the agreement between FCS and KFHA in letter and spirit was also pending with the Sindh chief secretary for arbitration.
Responding to this, the chief minister directed the officers to expedite the matter and try to get an early decision from both the chief secretary and the Sindh High Court. He also directed the officials concerned to appoint an elected administrator on each co-operative housing society in the province.

Bijarani-Pechuho tussle
The News learnt that Bijarani, minister without a portfolio, had refused to obey the orders of party leadership.
The leadership of ruling PPP had directed Bijarani not to insist on the removal of Dr Fazullah Pechuho and his team from the Sindh education department. The education secretary, a senior office management officer is the brother-in-law of former president Asif Ali Zardari.
Sources said the PPP leadership had advised new ministers to work with existing teams of officers in each department they were transferred to. It was said that removing senior officer on the whim of minister would set the wrong precedent. However, if any of the senior officers created hurdles in the work them action would be taken against them.
The same advice was also dispensed to Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani but he refused to take charge of his portfolio in the presence of Dr Pechuho and his team. He also met PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari but was advised to work with the existing team in the education department.
Moreover, The News also learnt that some of the new ministers in the Sindh cabinet had reservations over handing over the portfolio of education department to Bijarani but the PPP leadership refused to listen to their recommendations.
Sources also disclosed that former and present education minister Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, who is also the provincial information minister, was also unhappy with the working style of Dr Pechuho. However, the secretary’s involvement in a number of projects resulted in support from donor agencies including the USAID, European Union, JICA and World Bank.
Meanwhile, the Primary Teachers Association (PTA), Government School Teachers’ Association (GSTA) and Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SUPLA) have always remained at loggerheads with Pechuho, who continued to enjoy the support of Sindh’s intelligentsia.
Since his taking charge as the education secretary, however, Dr Pechuho has taken strict action against ghost teachers whose numbers are said to exceed 10,000. To root out this menace, he has introduced the system of biometric verification for government teachers.