KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah while referring to the activities of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) said that they had created a wave of fear and insecurity in the officials. “Therefore they (the officials) have stopped working and this has become a serious issue. This he said on Tuesday while addressing graduation ceremony of 26th Mid-Career Management Course (MCMC) at National Institute of Management (NIM). He said that officers were scared and they had stopped working. This is a serious situation that has caused serious dent to service delivery,” he lamented and urged the officers to come out of fear (of NAB] and start serving people without any stress and pressure. Mr Shah said that the bureaucracy of this country was highly qualified, efficient and properly trained but their salary structure and perks were considerably lower compared to people of other sectors. “Bureaucracy is the backbone of this country and they have to play their due role for the development of this country and its people,” he said and appreciated National Institute of Management (NIM) for offering excellent training programmes for capacity building of bureaucracy of the country. Furthermore, he urged its management to design such courses which inculcate confidence among `fear-infested’ officers. “I think such kind of courses are very much required these days,” he said. He said that he had a great objection to the slogan `say no to corruption.” He said that the slogan implied that we as a society and as a nation were corrupt. “We have governance issues and with the establishment of good governance corruption would automatically dwindle down,” he added. Talking about the 18th Constitutional Amendment Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that it was a great achievement of PPP government. He said that the government had prepared the draft with the collective wisdom of all the parliamentary forces and got it approved from the parliament. “That was the time of reforms- again the formula of 7th NFC Award was changed for the first time in the history and it paid the province abundantly. “It was 18th amendment under which Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) was established for collection of Sales Tax on Services. The federal government used to give Rs6 to 7 billion against Sales Tax on service to Sindh and last payment in this head was made at Rs14 billion and provincial government through SRB collected Rs27 billion in the first year of its (SRB) establishment and now it generates more than Rs100 billion,” he said. “This is the success story of the constitutional reforms the PPP government had introduced under 18th Amendment,” he said. “And now people are talking about scraping the 18th Amendment,” he said. Mr Shah urged the federal government to hand over the collection of Sales Tax on Goods to provinces. “This would be in the benefit of the national exchequer. Talking about Thar, Mr Shah urged the NIM administration to take their under-training officers to Thar and show them the work done by the provincial government. “We have improved over all lifestyle and now people have started living in cemented houses, we have improved road infrastructure, employment opportunities have been created at Thar coal, overall tourism has increased and in short we have improved District hospital Mithi,” he said . He added, “Yes, there is issue of mother-child health in Thar and we have started nutrition programmes for mother and child and are also going to develop a scientific method to maintain mother-child health,” he said. Discussing law and order in the province, the chief minister said that when PPP government came into power in 2008, people used to travel in conveys on highways and the city was was more dangerous. “With our political will and with the support of people of Karachi our government launched targeted operation and today everything, day to life, business, trade and commerce, educational and cultural activities are thriving,” he said. He congratulated the newly 26th MCMC graduates and hoped that they would serve the people to the best of their abilities. Talking to media on the occasion, chief minister said that he federal government was not giving due share of funds to Sindh. “This year they have given Rs12 billion less than the agreed amount,” he lamented. Mr Shah said that the FIA had unearthed Rs10 billion fake account from KPK. “I am sure the federal government would take strict action there also,” he said. To a question, the chief minister said that the speech of the prime minister was the same one he delivered atop the container. He added that the PM had delivered the same speech in the National Assembly and in his address to the nation. “The PM delivered the same speech when the Chinese refused to give him what he was expecting,” he said. To another question about Fawad Chaudhry’s statement, Murad Ali Shah said that he (Fawad Chaudhry) never spoke like that whenever they met. ‘I don’t know why he issues such threatening statements,” he said. “This person (Fawad Chaudhry) was once with Musharraf, then with the PPP and now with the PTI. Afterwards, he may land somewhere else,” he said. “I never take his statements seriously,” he concluded. Published in Daily Times, November 7th 2018.