KARACHI: Sindh Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani and Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Friday agreed that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)-led municipal administration could succeed only by meeting all promises and commitments made before the local government election along with timely completion of all development projects across Karachi.

The fresh consensus between the two came during a meeting at the minister’s office, where the mayor called on him to discuss development projects in Karachi and the strategy to give them boost for timely completion after the PPP government took charge of the affairs of the provincial government for fourth consecutive terms following the Feb 8 elections.

The mayor briefed Mr Ghani about different development schemes in different parts of the city and several others which were in the pipeline which were mainly connected with the city’s growing water supply and sewerage system challenges.

“The solution of all municipal issues of the city should be our utmost priority,” a statement issued after the meeting quoted Mr Ghani as saying. “We only meet our promises which we made with the people of Karachi through timely completion of development projects. The people of Karachi have trusted the PPP and its leadership and got its nominees elected as mayor and deputy of the city.”

He called it “quite an encouraging sign” that since the PPP-led local government system came into place in Karachi, several development projects across the city had been launched and the “progress” on all fronts was “visible.” The young mayor and deputy mayor of Karachi, he said, were making tireless efforts to restore the lost glory of the business capital.

Mayor Wahab while briefing the minister about the current and future projects under different funding across Karachi said that meeting the deadline in completion of all schemes was his priority.

“We are confident to meet all promises we made with the people of Karachi,” the statement quoted Mayor Wahab as saying during the meeting. “The city has witnessed significant change after the current local government came into place and PPP mayor and deputy mayor took charge of their offices. We are making every possible effort to ensure consistency and transparency in all development projects.”

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2024