Karachi: the sinking metropolis

Torrential rains over the past few weeks swept away the city of Karachi, brought it to a standstill and resulted in economic losses worth billions of rupees. The broken sewerage network, clogged stormwater drains and unplanned construction left little space for rainwater to drain, which ultimately found its way through people’s homes, offices and enterprises, sweeping away their fortunes.

But was it just the rains? Looking deeper, it becomes clear that the issue is much graver. The rains only washed away the façade of a functioning city and exposed its ugly vulnerabilities.

Karachi is one of the 10 worst cities in the world on the Global Liveability Index. The metropolis has a population of 16 million, though many claim that this is grossly understated. With the exception of a few posh localities, the city is densely populated with dreadful air quality, poor road infrastructure, low-quality public transport system and severe water shortage. As per the World Bank, urban green-space is now merely 4% of the city’s built-up area; 60% or less population has access to public sewerage; and 45 citizens compete for every bus seat compared to 12 in Mumbai.

Last week, the Prime Minister announced a grand Karachi Transformation Plan worth Rs1.1 trillion, to improve water supply, drainage and public infrastructure. The plan would be supervised by a committee headed by the Chief Minister Sindh.

But before this plan can be executed, there are two critical issues that need to be addressed: political economy and governance. Political economy will ultimately decide who picks the tab for the promised development, while governance would dictate who gets to spend this money and how.

On the political front, PPP’s rule in Sindh has left little room or resources for the local governments to function effectively. Karachi being the bastion of MQM has been getting peanuts, despite the fact that it contributes 12-15% to the national GDP. Over the next 10 years, the city is expected to contribute $330-450 billion to the country’s economy. As per World Bank estimates, the city needs around $9-10 billion over the same period to finance its infrastructure and service delivery needs. This means that even if we plough back 2-3% of what the city contributes to the economy, it can be rescued. But misaligned incentives have so far prevented this.

Moreover, Sindh has an annual development outlay of merely Rs170 billion, while the federal public sector development programme is Rs650 billion. Even if both the federal and provincial governments, along with development partners, pick the tab for Karachi’s transformation, they are likely to take years and will have to compromise on other constituencies craving for resources.

Then comes the governance. Across the world, there are many models followed to govern large cities, ranging from mayor-council structure to city commissions and professional city managers. But nowhere in the world is there as fragmented a structure as witnessed in Karachi. Although on paper the city is managed by Karachi Metropolitan Corporation headed by the mayor, there are scores of other agencies and entities diluting KMC’s authority. These range from district municipal corporations with limited control of KMC, cantonment boards, Karachi District Council, Karachi Development Authority, Malir and Lyari development authorities, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board, Sindh Solid Waste Management Board, Sindh Building Control Authority and more. Everyone is keen to assert their jurisdiction when it’s time to collect the rents, but no one is there to assume responsibility when it’s time for accountability. This fragmented structure has been the primary reason that no development plan has ever been successful in Karachi.

Without having the political will and incentives for the decision-makers, as well as a single unified governance structure, transformation of Karachi will remain a distant dream.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2020.

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