Corruption mars development

THE Faisalabad Development Authority (FDA) was set up in 1978 to tackle multiple problems like housing, kutcha abadis, roads and sewerage and water supply. Town planning, development, improvement of green belt, tree plantation and preparation of a master-plan for the city were among its other duties.

Over the last two decades, many of these functions were given to other departments. But FDA, after initial successes, had started crumbling owing to neglect of its basic functions.

Consequently, the miseries of the people, especially of the backwards localities, had increased manifold. Congestion is growing owing to encroachments on land meant for parks, gardens and playgrounds.

Under the devolution of power plan and the Punjab Local Government Ordinance 2001, the Nazimeen of Tehsil Municipal Administration (city) were delegated the powers of chairmen of governing bodies of development authorities to enable the elected representatives to steer these agencies out of financial constraint and convert them into public welfare organizations.

City Nazim Mumtaz Ali Cheema, in his capacity as the chairman of the FDA governing body, admitted at a news conference here the other day that there was a strong corruption mafia operating in government departments, especially TMA and FDA, adding that efforts were being made to eradicate the menace.

He said that FDA was still in the process of taking up development projects and had so far failed to render any services worth mentioning. But, he announced that the agency would be put on the path of progress and prosperity by the launching of public welfare policies and development schemes for which the government had assured provision of special funds.

The FDA governing body, according to Mr Cheema, has put forward a proposal for slashing of mark-up to 50 per cent so that the poor allottees of housing schemes could deposit their dues.

The proposal was accepted by the governor with the condition that 50 per cent mark-up would be paid to House Building Finance Corporation by the Punjab government whereas the remaining 50 per cent would be paid by the dwellers.

The City Nazim claimed that some politicians and elected representatives of the area were befooling the citizens, especially residents of Allama Iqbal Colony, by falsely claiming ‘success’ in cutting down the amount of the mark-up.

Mr Cheema said that gigantic water supply project involving foreign aid of Rs3.5 billion was being politicized by some political elements of Chiniot just to gain cheap popularity. However, no one would be allowed to undermine efforts to secure foreign assistance for launching mega projects.

Elaborating, he said two alternative sites had been selected for installation of tube-wells at the bed of River Chenab for supply of water to the citizens of Faisalabad. Unfortunately, the tendency of holding demonstrations and launching campaigns against government policies had become a fashion with the opposition members, not realizing its adverse effect on the life of the common man, he added.

Mr. Cheema pointed out that corruption, lawlessness and misuse of power were rampant in TMA and FDA when he took charge. All-out efforts were being made to eradicate these ills from those two public welfare bodies. He said that although allegations of corruption against government functionaries and elected representatives had become routine, senior citizens, politicians and powerful individuals jumped whenever action was taken against the corrupt.

The FDA chief pointed out that the corruption mafia was very powerful and had become a cancer in government departments which required complete surgery. In the circumstances, suspension of government employees and initiation of proceedings against them was nothing but waste of time.

He said that FDA and TMA would revise the master plan for the uplift and beautification of the city and evolve a mechanism to implement it.

He told that the work on the Faisal Town Housing Scheme would be resumed within a couple of months for which legal formalities were being completed. The projects for providing gas and electricity to this housing colony were also in the pipeline and would be started after finalization of formal work, he added.

He said that FDA had spent Rs110 million under the Khushal Pakistan Programme and completed 60 development schemes during the last three years. The remaining 21 schemes would be completed within next couple of months.

The FDA, during the last year, provided Rs20.7 million for the uplift of kutcha abadis and more funds would be provided during the current year.

A journalist drew the attention of the FDA chief to the plinth level of roads, streets and buildings. FDA had increased the length and width of roads in front of its building by 10 feet and 5 feet respectively. This was done to save it from rain water which used to accumulate in front of it. But FDA ignored the miseries of the passers-by and road-users like numerous influentials who violated the rules for their selfish ends.

The media-men asked the FDA chief to explain how a historical building like the Liaquat House outside Chiniot Bazaar, where the founder of the Nation, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had stayed in 1947 was demolished and sold out to a restaurant. The structure was pulled down and both FDA and TMA, who were responsible for protecting such heritage, allowed construction of an outlet of the McDonald’s creating wrong precedent. The FDA chief had no answer. Likewise, he failed to satisfy the media-men that an army of employees of FDA had been drawing huge salaries without rendering any services. He said that the authority was not receiving ‘developmental funds’ and grants for the last many years. Therefore, the employees could not be blamed for enjoying the salaries without doing any work.

During the last decade, FDA bosses sold out a number of commercial plots, open spaces and green belts through demarcation of shops to make payment of salaries of its staff under ‘staged auctions’. A number of plots reserved for recreational purposes and open spaces were also sold out.

Practically, the agency has been converted into a mere ‘contractor’ and a middleman for executing development works assigned to it by other agencies, including the District Government.

FDA had practically wound up its function of town planning having failed to develop a single housing scheme for the last couple of decades. Though a housing scheme under the name of Faisal Town was planned about two decades ago, the plan is still in doldrums.

The agency kept its eyes closed and allowed unscrupulous elements to develop 200 residential schemes in and around the city within the jurisdiction of FDA without providing civic amenities. Such negligence, according to insiders, was not accidental. Rather it was the outcome of huge booty shared by FDA’s town planners with private developers. Likewise, many shopping plazas had cropped up in the city without adequate facilities.

Similarly, FDA’s Horticulture Division consisting of 195 staff members neither maintained any green belt nor developed any garden during the last three decades. It had developed Kaleem Shaheed Park on Narwala Road but it is in a shambles.

The citizens have never seen in action the Environmental Control division of FDA having more than 28 employees and vast powers to take punitive action against those responsible for aggravating environmental pollution.

Mumtaz Ali Cheema is aware of the corruption and negligence of FDA and TMA officials, but the question is who will bell the cat?

Much depends on Iraq’s behaviour

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council meeting on Friday witnessed a crystallization of opinion within the membership in favour of continuing inspections in order to secure peaceful elimination of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

US and British diplomats had not expected Chief Weapons Inspector Hans Blix to present a report which confirmed enhanced Iraqi cooperation. They had hoped to capitalize on negative reports from Blix and IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei to press the case for quick military action. But both inspectors avoided harsh criticism, and the overwhelming majority of council nations pounced on their reports of improved Iraqi cooperation to call for fresh efforts to peacefully disarm President Saddam Hussein.

The pro-peace sentiments in the council was resoundingly manifest in the applause that greeted French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin’s statement extolling the virtues of peace and denouncing the dangers of war.

The rare outburst in the normally sober chamber was repeated — with somewhat less applause — when Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov called for more inspections and said there was no need to use force against Iraq now.

A visibly exasperated US Secretary of State Colin Powell, setting aside his prepared remarks, warned the council that the world should not be taken in by “tricks that are being played on us.” When Mr Powell finished speaking, there was silence in the council chamber.

The United States and Britain had hoped to push through a new resolution quickly, and there had even been talk of a Saturday council meeting to introduce it. But without tough reports from the weapons inspectors, those plans were put on hold on Friday, and British diplomats privately conceded they no longer knew when and how they would be able to circulate a draft.

Considering the strong response in the council against war on Iraq, it appeared highly unlikely that the United States could muster the nine votes needed to authorize war now.

The French foreign minister told reporters that France, which has veto power in the council, would not support a UN resolution authorizing war.

China and Russia, also with the power to veto resolutions, backed the French calls to triple the number of inspectors and make their searches more intrusive to spur Iraq’s peaceful disarmament.

The United States and Britain say they are willing to go to war without UN backing but would prefer to have it. UN backing is particularly important for the British government, which faces strong public opposition to a war.

Now that the battle lines are drawn in the council, observers point out, much will depend on how Iraqis utilize this peace sentiment in the Security Council.

If Baghdad fails to respond much more positively to the UN Inspection process by actually participating in its own disarmament, the time and space which has now been made available to it to avoid the use of power may dissipate very quickly.

US and British diplomats on Friday expressed their willingness to allow Iraqi disarmament to take place through a more robust inspection process, provided Iraq was prepared for much more proactive cooperation.

However if, within the next few weeks, Iraq does not utilize this window of opportunity, it may well close quickly.

Already there are reports that US and Britain have formulated one of two draft resolutions which would implicitly or explicitly authorize use of force because of Iraq’s failure to comply with Resolution 1441. They had expected to table them on Friday but the pro-peace sentiments in the council has stalled that process for now.

If such a resolution appears in the next few days, the diplomatic dynamics in the UN Security Council could once again shift toward the option of force rather than peace.

Civic sense visible on the horizon

AND Shakil qasai, as he is known to so many people? No he is not one, a real butcher. Only Eidul Azha brings him out to play this role, and so well. We often wonder how he learnt this business, which indeed has more fake practitioners than genuine ones in the city. In fact that must also be the picture in the country. For surely it is impossible to imagine that there will be as many butchers as required for all the “qurbani” that takes place.

Now in his early thirties it was about 15 years ago that a readily grinning Shakil was introduced to us by chance in a residential complex. Being temperamental and expressive, he had just had a row (a butcher’s row) with some of our neighbours. We negotiated a deal with him and finalized it. Since then that bond has grown, and turned richer with time, despite his mercurial nature; to say nothing of ours.

But Shakil himself despite the enlarged massive Eidul Azha operations each year has not kept any proportionate economic pace with the affluence of the rest of the city. His is no success story in material terms. Neither has his ego been inflated nor any upward change in his lifestyle. No quality of life change, no ladders of opportunity for him?

But he was happy at the business he had done on two days of Eidul Azha in town, where normally he sells fresh vegetables with pride in Saddar (Empress Market). Generally happy with life and with the people he deals with he is now a father of three children, and in his own way having come a long way since his days when he was a bachelor.

In a way the happiness of Shakil at the small money that he had made as a butcher reflects the contentment, and the pleasures of the city as a whole, as yet another Eidul Azha comes to an end. Its mood will merrily linger for weeks as long as the meat remains in the fridge — well-stocked. It is not always a sob story for the citizens, in fact there is a strong vibrant note of cheer that one perceives in the city, despite all the gloom and doom predictions that people dwelt on last week.

All the measures that the local administration took, and the maturing and mellowing of people of Karachi seems to have borne fruit, says one citizen who believes that the community has come to realize that it does not ultimately pay to resort to friction and violence. That conflict can be resolved through patience, even though the process itself is tense and stressful.

In a way this time it was not Eidul Azha alone that brought bon homie. It was as one resident interpreted “Eid Plus.” What does that mean? It means that we need to keep in mind that there were other cultural and social undercurrents operating simultaneously. There were other reasons for Karachiites to be celebrating and for there to be festivity in the air. Note that the Cricket World Cup in South Africa has begun and will continue until 23rd March. There was the “official and the unofficial” Basant that began in Lahore last week, whose impact was felt and is being experienced still all over the country (despite the controversy and the opposition); there was Valentine’s day on Friday (the third day of Eid); the wedding season is still on as indeed is flower show time and the many concerts that are being held, including those by the private and PTV channels. With this is the lovely charming February weather which makes the worst power and water shortage fairly tolerable.

But take Eidul Azha itself. Contributory factors that have always made things messy and uneasy at Eidul Azha: the collection of hides and skins, and the disposal on time of the unhygienic offals of the animals sacrificed. Bitter armed rivalries between organizations collecting hides and skins and the poor or complete absence of a reasonable civic sense have long been known to Karachiites. But with time, in the last 15 years of socio-political change, Karachiites have matured. They have begun to sense that violence and bloodshed doesn’t pay and that it is surely possible to show a caring for the neighbourhood.

Karachiites have reasons to be proud and stand tall. There is reason to hope that civic sense is certainly visible somewhere on the horizon. Not all the sacrifices that Karachi has made have been in vain.

There was the keen collection of hides, and newspaper claims have been made. But there has been peace generally. Animals have been sacrificed in hundreds of thousands, and they were also ‘cheaper’ this time for two reasons, they say. The handsome supply from sources and the cricket fever on the last day before Eid. But despite the qurbani the city looked clean and reflected the efforts that were generally made by the civic authorities.

As one looks at the 15 years that Karachi has gone since the mid-eighties, it is certainly gratifying and reassuring that Shakil and others like him have survived respectably and with dignity. Despite the frustrations, and the heartbreaks of living in the Sindh capital whose population is exploding literally, men like Shakil have managed to stay out of crime and steer clear their life and that of their family, through the vulnerable routes that this city offers. Shakil and others like him reflect the possibility that there is to live honestly and the faith that hard work pays. So what if Shakil still has no shop of his own or property as such. He has what Karachi symbolizes. Common sense hard work and an ability to create opportunity out of nothing?