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Kamal’s honour raises furore in city council

Staff Report

KARACHI: Treasury members in the city council on Monday tried hard to pass an unanimous resolution appreciating City Nazim Mustafa Kamal, who has recently been declared second best mayor in the world while opposition members fought back to highlight issues the city has faced for the last three years and staged a brief boycott.
The session was chaired by City Naib Nazim Nasreen Jalil and witnessed heated debates on both sides on the topic of celebrating the title bestowed upon the city nazim by the USA-based magazine ‘Foreign Policy’.
The treasury members, including leader of the house Asif Siddiqi, who tabled the resolution, said that now the world has recognised City Nazim Mustafa Kamal as one of the best mayors. “It was not only an honour for Karachi but for the country also. I think that the opposition members should endorse this and put their name on the resolution,” he said.
He mentioned that the city nazim has, in this three-year tenure, taken up extraordinary development works in the city, which if written, could take up hundreds of pages.
Opposition leader and PPP-backed Awam Dost Group head Saeed Ghani said that if the reporters of the awarding magazine had visited the union councils represented by opposition members, they would consider their decision on the negligence of the city government towards these areas. “It would be better and more rewarding if the people of the city appreciate the city nazim for his services, as there are still a number of areas which have not been seen to in the last three years,” he said.
Mr Ghani also alleged that the city government has planned to illegally occupy a large plot belonging to KWSB in his union council. “If the staff of the American magazine learns of this scam, they would change their decision to honour the city nazim immediately,” he said.
Masood Mehmood from the treasury benches urged opposition members to support the resolution, saying that by doing so, they will be portraying a strong image of the council.
Opposition member Juman Darwan said that the opposition had taken no part in ranking Mr Kamal as the second best mayor in the world. “However, the reality is that work in four towns, Lyari, Bin Qasim, Gadap and Kemari, and a number of union councils represented by opposition members has not been carried out properly so as to address basic civic issues,” he said.
He pointed out the KWSB has not yet carried out city naib nazim’s orders to eliminate the illegal hydrants on Manghopir Road which are causing immense problems for the people living in the surrounding areas.
Arshad Qureshi of the treasury bench said that the opposition members should not discuss the four towns where development works were not carried out but should focus on the remaining 14 towns.
Shamim Mumtaz Wasi, another member of the opposition benches, termed this session as historical as the house named this session in honour of the city nazim. “In the current financial crisis, the city government has named today’s session to discuss a one-point agenda, which costs thousands of rupees to the national exchequer,” she said.
In the heated debates from both sides, the convener had voted on the resolution, as opposition members had not consented to this. Later, the members also adopted five other resolutions within a couple of minutes and completed the current agenda.
Earlier, as the session proceeded, the members offered fateha for the soul of former governor and city mayor Mehmood A Haroon and others.
The convener then adjourned the session till Thursday.

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