Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that politicians must be respected for their services because they have served the country and steered it out of different crisis.
He was delivering his presidential address at annual dinner programme of Karachi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) here at a local club, said a statement on Saturday. He was accompanied by his cabinet members Saeed Ghani and Murtaza Wahab.
The chief minister said it was the people of this country who through ballot filter them out when politicians fail to deliver or serve them. He said that the politicians have always served this country through political vision and collective wisdom.
“This is a deplorable situation and we must respect politicians for their services and it is the people of this country who through ballot filter them out when they [politician] fail to deliver or serve them,” he said.
He said that the politicians have always served this country through political vision and collective wisdom. “This is why the financial crisis has never been cropped up so serious as has been emerged this time, because there is lack political decisions and wisdom,” he said and added that in the history of Pakistan the revenue recoveries improve every successive year but last time them went short than the previous year. Who suffered, he asked and then replied himself the province- the development portfolio was badly affected.
Murad Shah said that he was pressing the federal government to hand over the task of collection of Sales tax to the province because the provincial governments were close to consumers. “We will collect on your behalf and will return you,” he said and added this would increase revenue collection many times.
The chief minister said that under the federal government policies the production of industrial units has dropped down, unemployment was increasing, unrest has developed in all the segment of the society whether were industrialists, government employees, businessmen, labourers, transporters or bankers. “You are considering every one as a thief and as `chowkidar’ you have taken away everything from people of this country,” he said. “You were claiming that there was an annual theft of $200 billion tax in Pakistan. When you would come into power you would recover the stolen taxes and repay the loans. Now you have failed to even collect the regular taxes what to talk about recovery of stolen taxes,” he said.
Criticizing the federal government, Murad said that they were saying that a money laundering of Rs500 billion was being made every month. “Look at this person he doesn’t know how much Rs500 billion amount is and how it can be laundered regularly,” he questioned.
The chief minister said that people of `defeated minds’ keep signing a song that PPP government in Sindh had ignored Karachi. “This hurts me seriously- they feel they were the residents of this city while I was born here, grew here and received education here and played in the street of this beautiful city,” he said, and added that in Korangi district, the PPP was not given votes in general election. “No issue it is upto the people of this city whom they feel fit for giving mandate but what we have done is an open secret,” he said.