‘Owning’ Karachi

The myriad problems plaguing Pakistan’s commercial capital seem to keep expanding, and nobody seems interested in addressing them beyond mere lip service. The city’s water supply problem just keeps getting worse as the population keeps expanding, but even though people keep flocking to the city, job creation is nowhere near enough to accommodate all the new residents. Plans to attract new industrial development often end up getting derailed due to lack of ownership from the government of the day or limited interest from investors.

Most recently, an offer was made to the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) to allocate some 15,000 acres near Pakistan Steel Mill (PSM) for the development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The caretaker Sindh government has also said the SIFC is investigating setting up a special export processing zone in the same earmarked area. Another practical proposal is for property tax revenue to be dedicated to areas from where the money is collected, which would keep public works around prime industrial areas from falling into disrepair, as is currently the case in parts of the city. Another possible step in this direction is the creation of local works coordination committees which, if well run, would ensure better resource utilisation in several other areas, including water and sewerage, street lighting, and even policing.

Sindh’s Caretaker Revenue and Industries Minister Younus Dagha, who recently attributed many of Karachi’s ills to it being “lawaris”, or ownerless, said the committees would work independently, essentially meaning that they would have ‘ownership’ of their areas. Reports suggest restrictions on property speculation in industrial areas are also on the cards. The hope is that this would help stablise prices and make it easier for potential investors to gauge costs. While it is still a long shot, if all the pieces come together, the once-storied commercial capital could see a renaissance that drives growth in the entire country.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 31^st, 2023.

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