KMC workers face salary cut to ‘fund Wahab’s campaign’

Senior officials say Sindh government has given Rs1.5 billion loan as special grant

KARACHI:

Thousands of employees of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation are likely to face difficulties in their salaries and pensions.

It has been revealed that the Sindh government has given a loan of Rs1.5 billion to KMC in the name of a special grant for the election campaign of the administrator. The Sindh government will continue to deduct Rs50 million from OZT funds every month in return for the said grant.

Tenders were also called for Rs500 million initially from the salaries and pension funds of the employees. The incoming mayor will face severe financial difficulties.

According to highly credible sources, the Sindh government has devised a plan to deprive the employees of their salaries and pensions by allegedly targeting the OZT funds.

Sources revealed that the KMC is being given a loan in the name of special grant instead of additional funds by the Sindh government for the success of KMC Administrator Murtaza Wahab and the alleged election campaign. Sources said that a fund of Rs.1.5 billion has been released to KMC in this regard.

The said funds of Rs.1.5 billion will be recovered by deducting from the KMC's OZT funds every month from which salaries and pensions are paid to the employees and this deduction will continue every month for the next two and a half years.

Read More: SHC summons KMC officer, Sindh lawyer

Sources said that it has been decided to carry out development work in the city from the salaries and pension funds of the employees for which initially KMC Engineering Department has also invited tenders for 25 schemes costing Rs.500 million while more tenders are going to be called in the next few days.

KMC officials said that Administrator Murtaza Wahab has started the election campaign before the forthcoming local body polls and the drive is being run with the salaries and pension funds of the employees.

Senior officials added that instead of increasing the OZT funds of KMC, the Sindh government has jeopardised the salaries and pensions of thousands of employees by giving loans to make its blue-eyed administrator successful.

Sources said that the mayor of Karachi, who will be elected after the forthcoming local body elections, will continue to repay this loan to the Sindh government for two-and-a-half years.

It should be noted that the KMC already owes billions of rupees to private contractors. Instead of paying the funds to the former contractors, the development work was carried out with the funds from the salaries of the employees. These actions have provoked a strong outcry among the employees of the company. They appealed to higher authorities and the Supreme Court to take immediate notice in this regard.

Meanwhile, Administrator Murtaza Wahab was contacted to get his opinion, but he did not answer the call due to which his version could not be obtained.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 7^th, 2021.