Wasim Akhtar calls for empowered local govts in accordance with Article 140

Only Rs10.25 billion were provided during the last four years for the development of Karachi. This was stated by Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar on Thursday as he spoke at a luncheon hosted by the Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI).

The mayor said Prime Minister Imran Khan should sit in Karachi if he wanted to see Pakistan becoming stronger. He claimed that no scheme for Karachi was included in the public sector development schemes announced by the federal government.

Akhtar said the grant of Rs2 billion recently announced by the Sindh chief minister for the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) was not a new fund as it pertained to the dues payable by the provincial government related to the financial year 2018-19.

He added that civic issues of Karachi would remain unresolved till the time fully empowered local governments were established in accordance with the Article 140 of the constitution. He informed the gathering that 60 per cent part of the city belonged to the federal government and 30 per cent to the Sindh government. He said previous mayors of the city had authority over 12 per cent of the city but now that ratio had further decreased.

He said the mayor did not have the authority to approve development schemes worth more than Rs20 million. The KMC was facing a financial shortfall of Rs500 million every month in disbursing salaries to its employees but despite that it had been managing the city, he said.

He said the Sindh Local Government Act 2013 had envisaged payment of cess to the city out of the taxes collected by the provincial government from Karachi but the ratio of this cess was yet to be determined.

The mayor lamented that the faculty of the Karachi Medical and Dental College had not received salaries since the last four months and there was no payment of risk allowance to the city’s fire brigade personnel due to paucity of funds.

He said the claims made by the provincial authorities that Rs60 to 70 billion was given to the KMC during the last three to four years were contrary to the facts as of this financial assistance, an amount of Rs10.25 billion had been spent on the development and progress of Karachi while the rest of the funds were utilised for the payment of salaries and pension to the staffers of the KMC.

The mayor paid tribute to the business community of Karachi for continuing with their activities despite facing serious hardships. The government should duly reward them for their hard work, he said.

KATI President Sheikh Umer Rehan said that they had been running out of patience owing to sheer inefficient functioning of the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board. He said the KWSB, during the last two months, did not pay any heed to up to 80 per cent complaints originating from Korangi Industrial Area.

Rehan demanded that either the KWSB be privatised or its control be given to competent officials. One option could be to once more devolve the control of KWSB and hand it over to the KMC, he said.

The KATI president appealed to the PM to take immediate notice of lack of powers and resources for the local governments of Karachi.

“How can the country make progress when the controversy related to exercising the authority over building of infrastructure or provision of basic civic services in the city remains unresolved,” Rehan said.