Opposition rejects ‘visionless’ budget

Advocate Saifuddin rejected the mayor's "visionless" budget, calling him the worst in Karachi's history

KARACHI:

The KMC City Council Opposition Leader and JI Karachi Deputy Ameer, Saifuddin Advocate, criticised the PPP, stating they have done nothing for Karachi or Sindh.

He labelled the Karachi Mayor a puppet controlled by the Sindh government, with no developmental schemes for Karachi in the KMC budget.

He claimed council members were not consulted for budget proposals, and no developmental schemes were planned for the UCs.

Saifuddin Advocate rejected the mayor's "visionless" budget, calling him the worst in Karachi's history, and asserted that the true mayor of Karachi would soon take the seat. He questioned the mayor's dual role as Water Board Chairman, demanding accountability for the city's water crisis.

Accompanied by PTI Parliamentary Leader Mubasher Haq, JI Deputy Parliamentary Leader Junaid Makati, Qazi Sadruddin, and media coordinator Syed Jawad Shoaib, Saifuddin addressed the media post-budget session. He noted the mayor's position is conditional on court decisions, yet the mayor acts unilaterally, disregarding democratic processes and bulldozing council proceedings.

Saifuddin highlighted the mayor's failure, providing only manhole covers and budget documents, and criticised the PPP for considering lies as politics. He lamented the lack of consultation before the budget meeting, expecting a collaborative approach that never materialized.

He condemned the budget for lacking new developmental projects, stating that the focus was on old schemes. He pointed out discrepancies in revenue projections, questioning the allocation and actual budget figures.

Saifuddin accused the mayor of inappropriate behaviour, preventing him from speaking on a point of order about baseless allegations against him. He refuted claims of a tax-free budget, questioning the inclusion of mini-budgets for Municipal Utilities Charges and Taxes (MUCT) and toll tax. Saifuddin demanded improvements in city infrastructure, parks, green belts, and hospital conditions, criticizing the budget for its lack of substantial plans.

Opposition’s behavior is undemocratic, says mayor

Mayor Murtaza Wahab has termed opposition’s behaviour negative in the KMC annual budget approval meeting. He said that opposition did not even bother to listen to the budget speech.

He said that Pakistan Peoples Party is solving city’s water and other problems, while the opposition is hostage to its own agenda. He accused opposition of preventing positive minded people to think for the country. He made these remarks at a press conference after the budget meeting.

Wahab said that PPP had previously worked with Jamaat-e-Islami mayor, but this time the opposition did not provide any suggestions. Before the budget meeting, he invited the opposition leader, Syed Safdar Advocate, in writing, but the opposition did not respond positively. He said that the budget session was not supposed to have a points of order, but the opposition missed a golden opportunity.