Newly appointed Karachi Administrator Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Friday expressed his commitment to finish “politics of discrimination” during his tenure, adding that he was still preparing an idea to deal with the requirements of the town .
Wahab, who is additionally a spokesman for the Sindh government, expressed these views while chatting with the media in Karachi. He was appointed the town administrator each day ago.
During today’s media talk, Wahab emphasised the necessity to line aside differences and work together for the betterment of the town .
“I am trying to not believe the past. i’m brooding about the longer term … [and] will attempt to work [as the town administrator] with none discrimination,” he said.
“The Sindh government will lead the agenda [on this] and therefore the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and other government bodies will implement it,” he said.
The administrator said he was willing to figure with anyone for Karachi’s betterment, even the representatives of the federal .
When asked about his plan for developing the town and resolving its issues, he said he wouldn’t be sharing his agenda so far as he was still doing his “homework”.
“I am not someone who makes statements without doing my homework. Let me assess things first. i will be able to then prepare a game plan and share it.”
He said that the city’s issues had remained unresolved over the past years as “there was no direction”. “We try to define that direction first.”
Wahab also said that no institution could function without resources and highlighted the necessity for the KMC to specialise in collection so as to become financially independent.
“I have told KMC officials that there’ll be no sustainable solution [to the city’s problems] until the institution is formed financially independent.”
Wahab recalled that the KMC had served the town within the past and played its role within the metropolis’ development. “We will work with an equivalent people,” he said.
Responding to an issue about the city’s cleanliness problem, the administrator said that it had been primarily the responsibility of government institutions, particularly district municipal corporations (DMCs).
“However, of the six districts in Karachi, the task is administered by the waste management board in four districts and by the DMCs within the remaining two — Korangi and Central district,” he said, adding that things is far better in districts where the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB) was liable for cleanliness.
The administrations of Central and Korangi districts had approached the SSWMB and therefore the body would start waste management in one zone of Korangi district and two zones of Central district by the top of this month, he said.
“And you’ll see a clear difference.”
The administrator added that while it might take time to deal with the city’s water problem, he believed that issues concerning sewerage might be resolved soon. He said that he will hold a gathering with the officials concerned during this regard.
Administrator’s appointment
Wahab was appointed because the Karachi administrator with immediate effect on Thursday, with the government secretary notifying the appointment.
Earlier, amid rumours of Wahab’s name being touted for the post, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail had said on July 10 that Wahab’s appointment because the city’s administrator wouldn’t be acceptable to him at “any cost”.
He had underlined that the Karachi administrator must be appointed after mutual consultation of the PPP and therefore the PTI. “The administrator are going to be the one having experience in administration,” he had said.
Later on July 24, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah had called on the governor and insisted that it had been his prerogative to settle on anyone for the administrator’s post.
In response to an issue about the governor’s reservations over such a development, the CM had said: “The governor and PTI haven’t any right to boost any objection to the appointment [of Murtaza Wahab] because the Karachi administrator.
He had said the PPP believed in every institution’s right to figure within its domain. “Other political parties should also behave and work as per the Constitution and law while exercising their authority, powers etc,” he had added.
Career trajectory
Wahab’s journey in mainstream gunboat diplomacy took off in 2015, almost three years after the death of his mother and senior PPP leader Senator Fouzia Wahab when he was appointed an adviser to the chief minister.
In November 2016, however, the Sindh supreme court declared his appointment illegal as CM’s law adviser while also nullifying his chairmanship of the board of governors of law colleges in Karachi.
Wahab took another leap when he was elected unopposed as a senator in August 2017 and completed his tenure in March 2018. The seat had fallen vacant after the resignation of Saeed Ghani.
His role became more active after the 2018 elections and within the new Sindh administration he was seen as more aggressive and involved in representing the PPP and its provincial government.
His appointment became almost obvious a few of weeks ago when during a one-on-one meeting with PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari he was appreciated for his “service” in Karachi and encouraged to stay it up.
