KARACHI: Chief Minister Sindh Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that although the federal government committed to give Rs 12 billion to Sindh government long time ago for equipping the police department with necessary equipment and ammunition including bullet proof cars and jackets so that they could effectively deal with criminals but not a single penny has been released in this regard so far.
“Nonetheless, we are trying our best to restore peace in Karachi and improve the performance of police by utilizing our own financial resources”, Chief Minister Sindh added while exchanging views during his visit to the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Chairman Businessmen Group and Former President KCCI, Siraj Kassam Teli, Vice Chairmen BMG Zubair Motiwala and Haroon Farooki, President KCCI Younus Muhammad Bashir, Senior Vice President KCCI Zia Ahmed Khan, Vice President KCCI Muhammad Naeem Sharif, Former Presidents KCCI, AQ Khalil, Majyd Aziz, Abdullah Zaki and Iftikhar Ahmed Vohra along with KCCI Managing Committee members attended the meeting.
Qaim Ali Shah further assured that all issues identified by the representatives of Karachi Chamber in today’s meeting were valid and the Sindh government will try its best to get them resolved as early as possible and in consultation with KCCI.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman businessmen group and former president KCCI Siraj Kassam Teli said that during the past 8 years of Pakistan People’s Party government, it has been observed that the business community continues to face issues which were only resolved if Karachi Chamber took up any particular issue with Chief Minister Sindh otherwise the bureaucrats keep on using delaying tactics and create hindrances with a view to loot and take away whatever was left behind.
He said that the intent to work honestly and truthfully should be exhibited by everyone including the men in uniform, politicians, bureaucrats and even the business and industrial community in order to improve the situation. Everyone has to be honest and truthful but unfortunately, this is not happening at all, which is the key reason why issues continue to persist, he added.
Siraj Teli further pointed out that all seven industrial town associations in the city have been pursuing different strategies while illegal Business Councils and Forums are usually seen ‘hailing the presence’ so bureaucrats and politicians prefer visiting such illegal trade bodies as they don’t want to face or accept the truth. “It seems that the bureaucrats are trying to trigger brawl amongst business community, and somebody has to take them to task”, he added.
BMG Chairman further pointed out that although many decisions were being taken from time to time to resolve issues but these decisions were largely being ignored by the bureaucracy and lower staff. The entire system needs to be revised in such a manner that the decisions taken by the higher authorities are effectively implemented and the bureaucrats responsible for creating hurdles are taken to task. Somebody has to take the responsibility to improve the environment, he added.
He further pointed out that during the past 14 years, Site Limited was constantly being looted since 2002. Some development work, which included construction of roads, was initiated last year when Chief Minister released funds and a committee comprising representatives from private sector was formed but the overall performance of Site Limited has remained very poor as it has never bothered to undertake any development project on its own.
Siraj Teli, while strongly criticizing postponement of driving license campaign, said, “I haven’t heard driving a car without a license in any country around the world. Why do these violators do not dare to drive vehicles without a driving license in Dubai, London or any other place. Instead of postponing the driving license campaign, it would have been better if the Chief Minister should have strictly ordered to disallow anyone from driving on streets of Karachi if he or she is not carrying a valid driving license.”
Unfortunately, Home Minister ordered to postpone the campaign for a period of one month, which was again extended for three months by traffic police officers, he added.
Whether mistakenly or honestly, DIG Traffic announced a wise action which was criticized by many individuals who kept arguing this step, Siraj Teli said, DIG Traffic should have been bestowed a crown for what he attempted to do and should have been encouraged to apprehend those individuals who are caught driving vehicles without a driving license.
In this regard, BMG Chairman advised Chief Minister Sindh to speedily legislate law so that anyone caught driving a Mercedes or rickshaw without a driving license should be put behind bars while the Green Book carrying Highway Codes, Traffic Rules and Regulations must also be distributed amongst the public who should be advised to carefully examine and study this book, qualify a theory test, followed by the driving test and driving license should only be granted to individuals who prove their driving skills, which would improve traffic flow situation and ensure safe driving in Karachi.
Referring to Karachi Operation, Siraj Teli said, “During the coalition government of MQM, PPP and ANP in Sindh around 15 years ago, I urged them to undertake Karachi Operation to cleanse the city from criminals but no attention was given. Later, all three parties agreed to Karachi Operation and the results are in front of us. If this operation could have kicked off 15 years ago, the law and order situation today would have been much better”.
He underscored continuity of Karachi Operation as suspension of this important operation would result in completely reversing the entire situation and prove to be destructive for Karachi city.
Referring to NFC Award and Karachi’s revenue contribution of more than 65 percent despite so many odds, Siraj Teli opined that that federal government and other provinces never accept this reality. During Musharraf regime when NFC was introduced for the very first time, the Karachi Chamber succeeded in convincing the decision makers to introduce a revenue portion in the NFC award which is very little.
He asked the Chief Minister to advocate Per Capita NFC Participation of Provinces in the Federal Pool in the next meeting of Council of Common Interest or any future meeting held in connection with NFC award. “Currently federal government gathers and distributes funds amongst provinces, but under the proposed Per Capital NFC Participation, the provinces will collect and give funds to federal government on per capita basis”, he explained.
After 18th Amendment, many departments like EOBI, SESSI, NEPRA or OGRA were transferred to provinces in which participation of private sector has to be ensured but unfortunately, it has been observed that genuine representatives were not being appointed on the Boards of these departments where only favorites were being appointed without considering whether these individuals truly represent the business and industrial community or not, he noted, and urged the Chief Minister to take corrective steps by appointing genuine representatives of the business community in consultation with KCCI.
Siraj Teli further requested Chief Minister Sindh to hold a meeting as early as possible with representatives of Timber Market in order to discuss and resolve a dispute which was causing delays in reconstruction of buildings blazed in a fire incident.
Commenting on water crisis being faced by the city, Siraj Teli said that Managing Director KWSB Misbahuddin Farid has been raiding a particular spot to stop water theft but after an interval of three months, the theft starts again from the same spot. “MD Water Board has raided this particular spot thrice but it restarts after a certain intervals which we are unable to understand and we fear it might be happening as a consequence of some negotiations or may be corruption. Such incidents should be widely publicized in order to effectively curb such water thefts”.
Vice Chairman and Former President KCCI BMG Zubair Motiwala, in his remarks, underscored the need to effectively exploit massive coal reserves in Thar while the solar and wind technologies must also be used for power generation which would surely make Sindh the energy hub of this region. In this regard, a think-tank should be formed to evaluate and recommend ways and means of enhancing power generation, he advised, adding that if Sindh province succeeds in producing 30,000MW, it would give a boost to provincial GDP by at least two-and-a-half times.
Earlier, while welcoming the Chief Minister, President KCCI Younus Muhammad Bashir appreciated the Sindh government for always extending full support and cooperation to KCCI and hoped to see similar cooperation in the days to come.
He also expressed satisfaction on the progress and achievements of Karachi Operation being carried out by Pakistan Rangers Sindh and Police Department. “I believe that the overall security situation has improved to a certain extent. Rangers and Police have been doing a fine job in dealing with terrorists, target killers and other criminals, who were responsible for sabotaging peace in Karachi and plunging the city of lights into darkness of terror. However, we strongly believe that lot more still needs to be done in order to ensure durable and long-lasting peace and stability in every locality of this city”.
Younus Bashir was of the opinion that long lasting peace and stability in Karachi city would not only encourage industrialists to go for expansion and attract foreign investment but would also result in creating employment opportunities and improve the standard of livings, besides effectively dealing with numerous other issues being faced by the masses.
He also urged the Sindh government to prioritize development of infrastructure of Karachi city which was in a terrible state. Dilapidated roads and choked sewerage lines, massive encroachments, traffic congestion, water, gas and electricity shortages are not only being suffered by the industrialists but by every single citizen of this city. Disappointingly, the situation worsen further when budget allocations to Karachi remain insufficient to its needs, he added.
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