HYDERABAD: Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar has said that powers are concentrated in Sindh, but even with this concentration of powers, had the provincial government really delivered, the situation would have been different in Larkana.

Speaking at a press conference in Jinnah Hall of the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation on Wednesday, he commented that the local government (LG) system was being run like the autaq of some wadera.

“Those who have powers do not have mandate of people and those who have the mandate lack powers,” he remarked.

He disclosed that it was the Sindh local government act which prevented him from delivering as only those powers were left with mayors which did not help them provide facilities to people.

Calling for amendments to the Sindh LG law in order to strengthen the local bodies system, he suggested that the law could be amended in consultation with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) for better service delivery.

He said that being the nursery of democracy, the local government system could not be ignored, but it was seen otherwise in Sindh.

The mayor said that after abolition of the district government system, local bodies were run by bureaucrats and parliamentarians kept dominating them. Had funds been utilised transparently during this period, cities would not have been facing these issues, he said.

All the major political parties did not believe in the LG system so they always avoided holding LG polls and that’s why the present LG elections were held under directives of the apex court. He said the MQM, being the second largest political force in Sindh, was not consulted on the LG law.

No one knew where funds worth billions of rupees were spent, but people were, indeed, suffering. He asked why LG polls were held when powers were not to be transferred to LBs.

He said he believed that a strong LG system strengthened democracy, therefore it was necessary that people should be given share in powers. Unless those powers were given in line with the Constitution, the situation would not improve and there would be no democracy, he said.

If the rulers strengthen the third tier of government, people would side with the government. He called for implementing Article 140-A of the Constitution which dealt with the LG system.

Mr Akhtar said the rural-urban divide should be done away with as Sindh and its cities belonged to Sindhis and Urdu-speaking Sindhis. “It does not look good that two per cent are ruling over us [the two communities],” he said.

He said he left mounds of garbage in Karachi while proceeding for Hyderabad only to find the same situation there (Hyderabad).

The Sindh CM wanted development in the province, he said, adding that everyone termed Karachi a hub of economic activities, but no one resolved problems confronting it, though the city ran the entire province. He regretted that Karachi was being discriminated against and the same went for Hyderabad.

The mayor said he had approached every political party to seek cooperation in the larger interest of Karachi. He said that being the mayor, he was ready to shoulder responsibility with the Sindh government as far as Asif Zardari’s welcome rally in Karachi was concerned.

He welcomed Asif Zardari while demanding a package for Karachi and Hyderabad to resolve their long-standing issues. LBs were subservient to the CM and if they delivered, it would make Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Asif Zardari and the chief minister look successful, he said.

He said the MQM was given the mandate of LGs by people, but wondered why the PPP, which rendered sacrifices for democracy, was not dealing fairly with the nursery of democracy.

He said the garbage — not collected in the past eight years — needed to be lifted for which he was making efforts. “When a dictator could give funds for these cities, what prevents a democratic government to contribute more?” he said.

It was Asif Zardari who laid the foundation of recent friendship with China with the result that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was now progressing. He expressed the hope that the PPP leadership would come up to expectations of people.

He said 12,000 tonnes of solid waste was generated in Karachi and that he could clear routine garbage, but the mountains of garbage accumulated in the last eight years could not be disposed of forthwith. He said he needed a level playing field to perform.

The mayor said he had given some proposals to the CM and was awaiting his response. However, he said he could not give a cut-off date for taking his next step.

He told a questioner that he had options — the apex court or agitation — but the prevailing conditions did not allow him to resort to agitation. He said he was trying to pursue the provincial government for an amicable solution as he did not believe in conflict.

He, however, hinted at moving the apex court in connection with his powerlessness if he did not get a positive response from the government. He said the warm welcome accorded to him in the city reflected people’s mandate given to the MQM-P.

He was brought to the HMC in a convoy. Charged party workers accorded him a warm welcome on way from Hirabad to the HMC. HMC mayor Tayyab Hussain, MQM zonal organiser and MPA Rashid Khilji, MNA Wasim Hussain, MPAs Sabir Kaimkhani and Dilawar Qureshi were present.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2016