The two major stakeholders of Sindh, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) have finalized the local government system ordinance named “People’s Metropolitan Corporation Ordinance 2012” for Karachi but the interesting thing is that the decision was taken overnight by both coalition partners. Because of this ordinance the question arises that the PPP, who once used to be the flag bearers of democracy and opposed laws through ordinances in the past, how come they with a majority in the Sindh Assembly, now want to enforce the new system through an ordinance when it could easily get a bill approved by its members in the chamber.
On the other hand, Altaf Hussain of MQM has said that the local bodies system is the need of the hour and it reflects the desires of the people of Pakistan. I would like to ask him that now that the term of the government has almost completed, how come he has just realized that local government system was the reflection of the desires of people. Coalition partners and opposition parties are raising questions as to why the government was in such a rush to execute the ordinance and not get the legislation passed through proper course. Most of them said that they did not accept the decision taken overnight. What is the reason behind imposing two different local bides systems in Sindh?
BAKHTAWAR MANNAN
Karachi
I could not find the rationale behind the protest against the PPP and MQM reaching a consensus on the local government (LG) structure in Sindh. Is it a crime for two major political parties who have 143 seats in the 167-member Sindh Assembly to discuss and devise a local governance system for their province? Is it a crime to make city/town governments more viable, more resourceful and in turn, more responsible for the upkeep of their respective cities/towns? Why do people wrongly assume that the MQM will win the mayorship of Karachi, Hyderabad and the other three urban centres? We are living in a democratic era wherein whoever gets the majority takes over ownership, be it the PTI, PML-N, MQM or PPP. On the same lines, not long ago, the JI’s Naimat Ullah Khan served Karachi as a democratically elected mayor/nazim of the city.
In short, we need to see what is in the interests of the public. Should it be to strengthen the LG system to reap its benefits at grassroots level, or hand over the task of cities and towns’ development and operations to the bureaucracy? Even though no system is perfect, however, we need to criticise with an open mind; biased opinions help those who are always ready to create chaos as that is the only thing they can deliver
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