KARACHI: FCS chairman vows to bring all parties on board
By Our Staff Reporter
KARACHI, Dec 5: Though a tough task lies ahead for the new administrator of the Fishermen Cooperative Society, Mr Tahir Dada, who took charge of the society on Tuesday, seems determined to streamline the working of the organization by seeking the active cooperation of all the stakeholders associated with the fisheries sector.
According to an official order issued here, Mr Dada has been appointed as administrator for a year and was delegated all powers and duties earlier performed by a committee. The order, which was issued by the registrar of the provincial cooperative societies, assigned a gigantic task to the new administrator of improving the society’s revenue by 200 per cent and implementing a 17-point agenda of the European Union for lifting the ban on seafood exports.
The plan also includes restructuring and modernizing the FCS for the economic and social uplift of the fishermen, providing basic education to the fishermen community and improving the hygiene conditions at the harbour and its auction halls with the help of the Karachi and Korangi Fish Harbour Authorities.
The administrator has also been tasked with revising and updating the list of members of the Fishermen Cooperative Society so that only genuine fishermen would be enrolled and given the right to vote according to the registered bylaws of the society and furnish the same before the registrar of the cooperative societies for holding elections.
The order also directed the administrator to conduct an up-to-date audit of the society through a chartered accountancy firm and urged that CCTV cameras should be installed at all the auction halls. The registrar also directed the administrator to communicate the names of the advisory committee consisting of five members of different stakeholders from the fishing sector along with its TOR (terms of reference) within seven days.
A monthly progress report in respect of the above directives, along with monthly income and expenditure accounts, must be submitted to the registrar and secretary of the cooperative department to monitor the progress.
Talking to Dawn, Mr Dada said he was according top priority to increasing the income of the society by plugging all leakages, adding that without a sound financial base, welfare activities for fishermen could not be carried out.
He said that inquiries would be conducted into the causes of drastic cut in the income of the society and appropriate legal action would be taken in this regard.
Pledging to work for the welfare of fishermen, he said he would seek the cooperation of all stakeholders for this purpose. Mr Dada said he had no political affiliation with any party and no political agenda and only desired to make the FCS a genuine welfare body for fishermen.
