- Criminal negligence
The prime minister took his sweet time taking notice of the horrible power and water shortage in Karachi, but he might already be too late as businesses are shutting down, daily wagers have not been paid in a month in some sectors and now there is a serious threat of exporters not being able to meet their targets. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has been crying himself hoarse for weeks, yet even as the power crisis cut deep into production, primarily in textile and steel sectors, he was unable to get his message across in time.
Summer came unusually early this time to Karachi. But the timing and intensity of the new season only exposed the unpreparedness of the government. The matter between SSGC and KE is still nowhere near being handled. And power is not the city’s only problem. For years the country’s largest city and its financial hub has suffered at the hands of an artificially created water shortage, which powerful mafia groups exploit for monetary gains. Surprisingly even the famous Rangers action in the city, which cleared it of extortion, street crime and political maneuvering to a large degree, could not put a small dent in the water crisis.
It is still not clear how soon Karachi’s problems can be controlled. It is abundantly clear that neither the PPP government in Sindh nor the PML-N government in the centre is too upset by the city’s fate. PML-N has handled the circular debt matter very mysteriously during this electoral cycle. And despite paying off Rs500b, unaudited, when it came to power, it has once again risen to more than Rs900b. With such policy failures now out in the open, and people about to go to the polls, our dear politicians will have only themselves to blame if the people really judge them based on their performance, and deliver he axe.
