KARACHI: The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) seems reluctant to make the zoo financially independent, even partially, and lose the lucrative business the public facility generates ever year, it emerged during a meeting held at the zoo on Friday.

Presided over by Karachi commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, the meeting of the zoo and Safari advisory committee, was well attended with representation from government departments as well as non-governmental organisations working for nature conservation, educational institutions, the business community and the media.

It was the sixth meeting of the body since its formation in December last year. The aim is to improve facilities for captive animals under government care.

An important point of the agenda pertained to making the zoo financially independent and the meeting participants noted with concern that no progress could be achieved in this regard.

To the surprise of many participants, director of local government Rubina Asif, who had been assigned the task of contacting the KMC administrator over this issue, informed the meeting participants for the umpteenth time that the KMC administrator for some reasons was not ‘accessible’ to discuss the recommendation.

According to sources, the KMC administrator is strongly opposed to the idea to give partial or absolute financial independence to the zoo that would mean losing about Rs40 million to Rs50m (official figures) revenue that the facility generates every year.

There was also displeasure in the ranks of the KMC over the Sindh government’s initiative to make commissioner of Karachi head of the zoo/Safari advisory committee, though both the zoo and the Safari park are under the administrative control of the KMC, the sources said.

Presently, according to the sources, both the zoo and Safari don’t have funds to pay their pending dues running into millions of rupees on account of the feed acquired for animals.

Both facilities, the sources said, faced the risk of suspension in feed supplies.

This point was also raised during the meeting and the commissioner directed the local government director to expedite her efforts and arrange a meeting of the commissioner with the KMC administrator.

It may be recalled that an order notified during the period of then commissioner Syed Hashim Raza Zaidi that the zoo should directly receive the 20pc of its revenue has never been implemented. Lack of financial powers, the sources said, was a major hindrance in the proper upkeep of the zoo.

The meeting participants noted with concern that the KMC veterinary department had failed to ensure regular supply of the confiscated meat to the zoo. The meat seized from illegal slaughterhouses was usually sold on the markets.

NO MoU with Singapore zoo during trip

KMC director for community, sports and recreation (CSR) Raza Abbas Rizvi informed the meeting participants that a team comprising zoo and Safari officials was heading for Singapore within 15 days but no agreement, as had been earlier announced, would be signed during the trip.

“A new official has taken over the charge of the Singapore Zoo and he has communicated to us that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) earlier agreed upon couldn’t be signed now,” he told the audience, adding that the new official had welcomed the visit.

Two technical staff members, he said, had now been included in the team to visit Singapore.

Although no question was raised on this development, some participants after the meeting questioned the utility of the costly trip, especially in a situation when both zoo and Safari are facing severe financial crisis.

Mohammad Moazzam Khan representing the World Wide Fund for Nature-Pakistan (WWF-P) said that international funding for the zoo was only available in areas linked to conservation of animals, especially those that were critically endangered, or their release in nature.

Hence, he said, it was important that the zoo develop relevant proposals to acquire funding for projects.

It was also pointed out that two proposals based on animal conservation and creating awareness of the wildlife at the zoo costing about Rs1m had been finalised and would be submitted to the WWF-P’s committee for funding approval.

On support of the business community to the zoo, Faisal Mukhtar representing the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry explained that the zoo held a poor image in the public eye and it was a major obstacle in acquiring funds for the facility.

Citing a suggestion from a KCCI member, Mr Mukhtar said that the zoo needed to be shifted outside the city since the area had become too congested and posed health risks to animals. The recommendation, however, was not taken up for discussion.

Ateeq-ur-Rehman, a social worker, recommended that the corporate sector should be asked to donate funds to the zoo as part of their corporate social responsibility commitments.

The commissioner expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of the KMC director of CSR over his failure to achieve the targets he had committed in the last meeting that included launching a website on the zoo, setting up a souvenir shop at the facility and establishing an international linkage with a foreign zoo.

Concern was expressed over the failure of the KMC and the wildlife department in taking action against people involved in illegal sale and purchase of animals.

Members appreciated the youth team for initiating clean-up activities and ideas to promote the zoo.

Published in Dawn, May 16th, 2015

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