Daily Times

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah will address City Council members of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar told Daily Times on Friday.

“On my invitation, the chief minister has expressed his eagerness to address the City Council for which the date will be decided in due course of time,” he said.

Waseem said that it was believed that CM would take up the serious issues of entity into consideration after meeting the council’s members.

The civic entity has been facing problems like employees’ timely salaries and other matters, paucity of development funds and above all the most important matter of power sharing formula between KMC and Sindh government, he remarked.

The City Council of the KMC has housed 308 elected members from different political parties and groups.

Mayor said that Murad has already directed Finance and Local Government departments to prepare a strategy for resolving financial issues and power sharing matters of these two bodies.

He said due to positive attitude of CM and during his last meeting with him, there were great prospects that financial matters of civic entity would soon be resolved with the assistance and cooperation of CM.

Mayor during his talks has demanded Murad to hand over administration of Karachi Water and Sewerage Board and all development schemes of Karachi Development Authority to KMC.

The civic entity would become more efficient to perform officials’ obligations after taking control of these responsibilities and civic problems of the citizens’ could be resolved under one roof with ease, he maintained.

Highlighting the importance of revision in OZT share, grant in aid, control of vehicle charged parking, restoration of commercialisation rights of major roads, funds for running 13-KMC hospitals, funds to meet revision in basic pay scale and recovery of different taxes, he was confident that after regaining these rights, KMC would become a viable and competent entity to deliver every good to the people of the city.

He requested Sindh government to release Rs 300 million per month to KMC in order to bail out civic body from dire financial crunch.

The recent behaviour of the CM and government functionaries towards resolution of KMC matter would definitely bear fruit and as an outcome, the citizens of city and deprived employees of civic entity would be first to get fruit, Waseem maintained.

Published in Daily Times, October 21^st 2017.