KARACHI, May 9: The Karachi Fisheries Harbour Authority (KFHA) could not launch its major development projects during the current fiscal due to paucity of funds, a fisheries source confirmed on Saturday.
According to the source, the fate of several major development projects, including the upgrading of the harbour in line with the international standards, have hit snags due to financial constraints as the Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS) did not pay the outstanding dues to the KFHA.
The FCS dues amount to Rs10 million and it had committed to pay them off under an agreement signed by the two sides last year. The deal, which was to be made effective from July 2003, could not be implemented so far.
Sources in the KFHA said that while the FCS had not yet paid the first instalment, there were some other parties which had defaulted on payment of dues. Among them, they pointed out, were the owners of the plots which had the lease period expired, owners of abandoned boats and some processing units.
The development schemes proposed in the KFHA budget 2003-04 includes construction of a shrimp-peeling complex, at a cost of Rs25 million, as required by the European Union - the biggest market for Pakistani seafood, which makes 54 per cent of the total exports.
The other projects are establishment of a boatyard road (Rs4 million), construction of shops and offices (Rs1.5 million) and installation of streetlights (Rs1 million).
The KFHA also plans construction of an operation room to monitor vessels' movement and various operations at the harbour. An amount of Rs1.2 million has been earmarked for the project while another amount of Rs5 million was planned to be spent on a security system for the whole area.
Besides, the KFHA budget envisages construction of cabins and markets for fish retailers and cutters at a cost Rs5 million. The fish cutters and many small retailers are presently scattered in an haphazard manner outside the fish auction hall and their activities create unhygienic conditions.
Under the plan, they are to be shifted outside the Gate Nos. 3 and 4 with proper facilities. None of these plans could materialize due to the paucity of funds.
The Authority's main sources for its annual income of Rs35.55 million include ground rent paid by various export-oriented processing units (Rs8 million), crew card (Rs5 million), gate entry fee (Rs4.2 million), fishing licence (Rs1.2 million) and boat-building yard rent (Rs8 million).
However, the major land-holding and revenue generating source is the FCS which has been using about 24,000 square yards of the KFHA land and gets a commission of 6.125 per cent of the value of all seafood traded at the KFHA auction halls.
The FCS Board of Directors, at a meeting presided over by the Society's chairman Sardar Manzoor Ali Panhwar, the provincial Minister for Fisheries and Livestock, in July last had announced that the Society would pay Rs10 million annually to the KFHA. However, the FCS failed to fulfil the commitment.
The financial strength of the KFHA could be gauged from the fact that it is not in a position to reconstruct a damaged wall at the harbour. Due to the damage, the harbour is exposed to a security risk, according to the fisheries source.
The default by the FCS has been attributed to a sharp decline in fish catch and the ultimate shrinking commission to be received from commission-holders. The cut down commission is also not received by the FCS promptly and regularly.
Last month, Sardar Panhwar had held a meeting with the commission-holders and impressed upon them to clear their dues so that the FCS could run its affairs smoothly.
