KCCI slams government for ignoring Karachi

KARACHI: Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) President Muhammad Idrees has blasted the federal government for ignoring the issues and problems of Karachi, a statement said on Tuesday.

Idress said that Karachi continues to suffer badly due to dilapidated infrastructure, unavailability of gas, electricity, water and other important civic facilities whereas, the hardships for Karachiites have intensified further due to rising lawlessness all over the city.

He raised concerns over the rising street crimes being reported from all over the city, adding that Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed has never bothered to visit Karachi and was only available to TV channels where he can be seen making tall claims.

Due to the step-motherly treatment by the federal government, the city’s infrastructure has sharply deteriorated to such an extent that many of the roads particularly those in the industrial zones were not even jeepable, he added.

“This city, despite contributing more than 65 per cent revenue to the national exchequer, 95 per cent to provincial kitty and 54 per cent in terms of exports, remains deprived of basic facilities while all 14 member of National Assembly of the PTI government who had been elected from Karachi were also not paying any attention to the issues being suffered by the inhabitants of this city,” Idress said.

It was recently reported that the Large Taxpayers Office (LTO) Karachi surpassed the tax-collection milestone of Rs1 trillion in just eight months of the current fiscal year but this city was not even receiving 10 per cent of what it has been constantly contributing since so many years, he said.

The industries of Karachi are deprived of gas as only 800mmcfd is provided to the city while the total demand stands at 1100mmcfd, which was unfair particularly in a situation where no gas load-shedding was being carried out in any other city of the country except Karachi.

“A summary was moved by the Ministry of Commerce wherein it was mentioned that re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) will be supplied to the industries of zero-rated sector at the rate of $6.5, whereas the industrial power consumers will be provided RLNG at $9 across Pakistan but this was implemented within the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited’s (SNGPL) territories and no relief was provided to Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC),” he said.

These subsidised rates for RLNG were being provided from the revenue and it is a matter of concern that the biggest revenue contributor i.e., Karachi, remains deprived.

He said that Governor Sindh along with the managing director SSGC, during a meeting held to discuss gas crises, assured that the gas issue which persisted since November 2021 will be resolved by February 15 2022, but to date, the industries were not receiving gas at normal pressure.

The KCCI has been constantly writing letters to all the federal ministers from time to time so that they could be invited to KCCI for discussing the issues of Karachi and devising a workable plan of action on a war-footing basis but unfortunately, none of these federal ministers have responded.

He said that the water allocation under K-IV, which has been reduced from 650MGD, to 260MGD, would not help in resolving the water crisis being faced by Karachi therefore, the government must restore 650MGD water supply to Karachi under K-IV which must be completed within the deadline ending on October 2023.

“We are totally disappointed to see the approach of the federal government which was mainly responsible for the most of the issues of Karachi hence, we would like to appeal Prime Minister Imran Khan to pay special attention to Karachi and issue directives to all the federal ministers to take interest in resolving the problems of this city on top priority,” the KCCI president said.

It is already too late and further delay would not only prove detrimental for Karachi but for the entire country because of Karachi’s massive contribution to the economic development of Pakistan, he added.

President KCCI demanded that a special package must be granted to Karachi so that its infrastructure problem and other issues could be resolved whereas a special technology park in Karachi, which was widely being demanded due to ongoing boom in the IT sector, must also be announced by the federal government on top priority.

While referring to a meeting held in Islamabad on September 30, 2021 with Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Commerce Razak Dawood and Energy Minister Hammad Azhar, President KCCI said, “At that point in time, we requested to hand over the textile city land at Port Qasim spread on an area of 1250 acres to Karachi Chamber but instead of doing so this land has been given to Ministry of Maritime Affairs and we are fearing it is going to sold at exorbitant rates to irrelevant people.”

“Hence, keeping in view the vision of the Prime Minister, who firmly believes that it is not the government’s job to sell land or do business, we would like to once again appeal the government to hand over the Textile City’s land to Karachi Chamber so we could carry out the infrastructure development and ensure that the land is being sold to legitimate industrialists,” Idrees said.