• Hafiz Naeem terms resolution ‘act of hostility towards Karachi’
• Vows to bring no-trust motion against Mayor Wahab

KARACHI: Amid strong and noisy protest by the opposition in the City Council, the Pakistan Peoples Party managed to get passed a resolution in the house on Monday approving the collection of the controversial Municipal Utility Charges and Taxes (MUCT) through electricity bills.

Minutes after the session was adjourned by Mayor Murtaza Wahab, Opposition Leader Hafiz Naeemur Rehman of the Jamaat-i-Islami labelled the City Council decision an act of hostility towards the city and declared that a motion of no-confidence against the mayor would be tabled.

“We are working to move a no-confidence motion. Till then, we want everything to be done according to rules,” he told a post-session presser.

The third sitting of the City Council was, however, remained relatively calm as most of the speakers, mainly parliamentary leaders of the JI, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F), delivered their speeches successfully.

At the outset, the mayor requested the council members to let the house run smoothly without interruption.

The parliamentary party leader of the PPP, Najmi Alam, who moved the resolution for collection of MUCT through the K-Electric bills, said that the decision was aimed at generating revenue for the city’s municipal administration.

He said that the collection of MUCT had been outsourced during the tenure of former mayor Wasim Akhtar and the contractor could collect only Rs200 million.

The resolution was adopted with a majority vote amid opposition’s protest.

The City Council also gave approval of a resolution by majority vote in which the caretaker provincial government was demanded to immediately provide each union committee funds of Rs30m for carrying out development works.

There are 246 UCs in Karachi and the total amount required stands at Rs7.3 billion.

Bailout package demanded

The council unanimously passed a resolution asking the caretaker government to immediately sanction a special financial bailout package to pay pensions and other dues of retired employees of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation and defunct District Municipal Corporations of Central, West, East, South, Korangi, Keamari, Malir and District Council Karachi.

The resolution said that the funds were required so that immediate relief could be provided to thousands of retired government employees and their families who are waiting for payment of their dues on the basis of humanitarian and national sympathy.

Those who spoke on the resolutions included JI’s Advocate Saifuddin, JUI-F’s Mufti Khalid and PTI’s Mubashir.

During the City Council session that lasted around two hours, the mayor said that the members should play their role in improving the tax and revenue collection system in the KMC so that the money could be invested in the city.

“Now we need to work together, every meeting of the City Council will focus on one of the main problems of the city and try to solve it,” he added.

Replying to the demand of the JI members for presenting the current KMC budget in the house, Mayor Wahab said that the budget had been approved by the previous administrator and the law did not allow the council to re-approve it.

“However, if City Council members have concerns about the budget, a resolution can be tabled in the council,” he said.

The council’s current session was adjourned to a date to be announced later.

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2023