Municipal officials hold protest against lack of funds for UCs, towns

A large number of elected representatives of the local government from the opposition parties held a demonstration outside the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) building, which also houses the city council, to protest against the lack of funds for union councils and towns.

The protesters were carrying placards and banners inscribed with slogans against Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab of the Pakistan People Party (PPP). They demanded that the mayor either release the funds or quit.

Jamaat-e-Islami city chief Munem Zafar said in his address to the protesters that the PPP government has “taken loans worth billions and billions of rupees in the name of developing Karachi”. He said that the situation of infrastructure and other basic facilities, including water supply, shows what happened to those funds.

He claimed that thanks to the 18th amendment, the province received Rs1.9 trillion from the federal government but the PPP government was unable to deliver the already announced funds due to unlimited greed for money and power.

He pointed out that it is a unique demonstration, as the elected representatives in the city have been protesting, and demanding that the mayor release grants in order to facilitate Karachiites.

Zafar said the JI has been working on two fronts in Karachi: on the one hand the party leaders in the local government have been working even beyond their mandate to facilitate Karachiites, while on the other, a rights movement for them also continues.

He claimed on the occasion that the mayor is a total failure, and that he would have to quit his job or release the development funds. He said the JI would extend the scope of its protest to towns and UCs “to completely expose the mayor and the PPP”.

Earlier, the town chairmen and other LG representatives shared the ordeal of people in their respective areas with the media. They said that despite multiple announcements, the PPP government has not increased the funds for UCs.

They also said that out of the total Rs500,000, Rs450,000 is spent on salaries and other necessary expenditure, leaving almost no room for development work in

the UCs.

They complained that the mayor “offers only lip service instead of taking concrete steps to resolve the issues”. They also termed the PPP government “the mother of corruption and a speed breaker for the development and progress of Karachi”. The PPP government does not spare funds even for the minorities, claimed a municipal official.