When civic workers themselves colour the walls dirty

Walls with slogans, posters becoming common sight; chairman, upper staff seem powerless.

ISLAMABAD:

The Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) own staffers have been breaking the civic agency’s bylaws by chalking walls and placing illegal hoardings around the city for the last month.

The civic agency’s staff members have been defacing the city ahead of upcoming union elections, putting up hoardings and messages of the candidates in contest.

The campaigners have also been setting up election offices on greenbelts, often causing damage to city property. This is despite the fact that an election date has not even been announced so far.

A top CDA official said the unions have strong influence and almost every CDA chairman has been forced to accept their conditions, fair or otherwise, on a number of issues.

Chairman Farkhand Iqbal visited different areas of the city on Saturday evening to inspect work to beautify the city, but made no comment about his staff’s handiwork. According to a press statement issued by the CDA spokesperson, the chairman only “appreciated the performance of the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA)”.

Four groups are contesting the election, including Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA) Employees Union President Chaudhry Muhammad Yasin, and Amanullah Khan, who as a presidential candidate for the CDA Employees Federation, has the backing of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), and the worker league group and CDA employees group.

The CBA Employees Union and Employees Federation of CDA are seen as the stronger groups and have considerable influence on the agency’s affairs.

The walls of a number of public buildings in the city have the names of these groups and their election slogans plastered on them, including government schools, all of the CDA’s own offices, and some residential quarters.

CDA Spokesperson Masoodur Rehman admitted that the illegal practice had been taking place around the city, but claimed the candidates had democratic rights to express their views. He added, however, that he will take up the issue with the chairman to investigate violations.

Amanullah Khan admitted that his supporters had placed banners and chalked walls, but justified his actions by saying that the other group had started this tradition three years back. “I am just following them.”

There are also allegations that these groups have been using illegal electricity connections to power their campaign offices.

Khan flatly denied the charges, saying they had obtained their electricity connections legally.

Chaudhry Yasin is on a foreign trip and was not available for comments. However, his spokesperson, Aurangzeb Khan, told The Express Tribune that they got a proper meter for their lights.

On defacing public property, he simply said, “All groups are using banners and wall-chalking and my group is also in the same race.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30^th, 2012.