To improve Karachi’s development graph, there’s a need to resolve the issue of power sharing
KARACHI: At a recent event, Karachi Mayor Waseem Akhtar spoke of how Karachi is the hotspot for disasters for lack of preparedness. Where the statement from the mayor does not come as a surprise, it certainly raises the question why the city is unprepared to deal with unfortunate occurrence.
Previously, the mayor lamented about how the city government never had its powers to work in the city. This issue undeniably has to do with the clash between the provincial and the local city government over distribution and exercise of powers.
Even after the 18th Amendment and devolution of powers to provinces, the authority has not been devolved further down to the local governments. The situation is worse in Sindh as the mayor is from a political party that is not ruling the province.
The federal government, being another different party, has distanced itself from the issue and only seems interested in affairs of the provincial government of Sindh. To improve Karachi’s development graph, there’s a dire need to resolve the issue of power sharing between the various stakeholders.
Hamza Shahzad
Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2019.
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