Zaidi accuses Sindh govt of looting nation’s money

Federal minister alleges fertiliser being hoarded right under the nose of Sindh government

SUKKUR:

Federal Minister for Ports and Shipping Ali Zaidi on Sunday said the PPP-led Sindh government plundered the public money, saying the looted money would soon be returned to the national exchequer.

Addressing the press conference at Sukkur Press Club here, the minister said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has already recovered millions of rupees from the corrupt elements.

He said the Sindh government was allowing the hoarding of the fertiliser right under its nose. “It [the provincial government] is only pretending to support the farmers by blaming the federal government,” he alleged.

Zaidi, who is also president of the PTI Sindh chapter, said the ruling government would complete its five-year tenure and would form the government in 2023 once again.

He pointed out that the responsibility for the road network in Karachi lies with the Sindh government, and not with the federal government. “Yet the federal government has provided Green-Line Bus Project for the people Karachi,” the minister added.

He said the local bodies act was a colonial law and against the Constitution, adding that the Constitution interprets the powers should be transferred to the representatives of the local bodies.

To a question, he said with the passage of the 18th Amendment, the powers were transferred to the provinces.

The PPP government concentrated all the powers under the thumb of the chief minister and yet had the audacity to claim to be the champion of democratic norms. "The provincial government was reluctant to delegate powers to the real contenders."

Zaidi said the Karachi Committee meeting was held in September 2020, which asked the PPP to give powers to representatives of the local government, and Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) as well as Sindh Solid Waste Management (SSWM), but the PPP-led Sindh government is reluctant to transfer the powers to the concerned authorities.

PTI leader Syed Tahir Shah, Mubeen Jatoi and others were also present on the occasion.