Will strengthen local bodies, says CM

JI urges Murad to take up census concerns with federal govt

The province's local government bodies will be strengthened through necessary amendments in the Sindh Local Government Act, 2013, insisted provincial chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday.

He was meeting a delegation of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) members, led by the party's Karachi chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, at the CM House. The visiting JI leaders stressed the need to empower the local government bodies.

Shah responded that he had already addressed the issue during a press conference, where he had claimed the relevant provincial legislation was being amended for the purpose.

He added that the government had also decided to devolve the operations of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board and the Sindh Building Control Authority to the divisional level.

The delegation further urged the CM to bring up the matter of the 2017 census with the federal government.

"The census is controversial and the grievances of Karachiites must be addressed," insisted Rehman.

At this, Shah said he had raised the matter before the Council of Common Interest, adding that he would again ask the forum to take action at the next meeting, on November 11.

In response to another question, the CM claimed he was ready to hold local government elections in Sindh, but the polls could not be conducted until the federal government decided and notified the census. The tenure of the elected local government representatives in the province came to an end in August.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2020.