I couldn’t find the rationale behind Sept 09 editorial ‘They’ve sinned’ with reference to PPP and MQM reaching out a consensus on local government structure in Sindh. So what in fact they have sinned —- is this a sin for two major political parties who have 143 seats in 167-member assembly, to discuss and devise local governance system for their province? Is this a sin to make city/town governments more viable, more resourceful and in return more responsible for the upkeep of the respective city/town? Why someone assumes that MQM will win the mayor ship of Karachi, Hyderabad and other three urban centres; we are living in a democratic era wherein whoever gets the majority on his side will take over the mayor ship, be it PTI, PMLN, MQM or PPP. On same lines, not long ago JI’s Naimat Ullah Khan served Karachi as democratically elected mayor/nazim of the city.
Regardless of the fact that all political parties, no matter whether or not they have any representation in the assembly or any significant presence on ground, be it PML-N, PML-F, JI, ANP, PTI and Sindhi nationalists, all have shamelessly joined hands to oppose the proposed LG system in Sindh, I am not aware of any valid argument from their side to oppose the system. It is obvious mega cities such as Karachi, whose population may be more than that of an average Middle Eastern country, can’t be run like Jhuddo, Hafizabad, Dadu or Mardan or any other small size city. On same note, Dadu or Mardan have their own peculiarities due to size which may not be applicable in Karachi. If someone is afraid that by strengthening the urban centres’ governance structure, Sindh is going to be divided, he is grossly mistaken. Rather it shall be demanded that municipalities of Dadu and Kishmore and other small cities shall also get powers at par with Karachi, not to do it other way round.
In short, we need to look what is in public interest – strengthen the LG system to reap its benefits at grass root level, or handover the task of cities and towns’ development and operation to bureaucracy. No system is perfect, however, we need to criticize the system with an open mind; biased opinion helps those who are always ready to create chaos as that’s the only thing they can deliver.
MASOOD KHAN
Jubail, Saudi Arabia
