KARACHI: President of Pakistan Dr Arif Alvi has appreciated Osaka Lighting's pledge to replace the lights in the President's House with LED lights in the spirit of national service. He said "CSR is, in fact, what the modern world calls the welfare system first introduced in the state of Madina."

He expressed these views at the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Presidency and Osaka Lighting at the Governor's House. The MoU was signed by Shahid Shaukat, Project Director of the Presidency, and Shamim Ahmed, CEO, Osaka. Sheikh Mansoor Elahi Shamsi from Osaka Lighting was also present on the occasion.

President Dr Arif Alawi thanked Osaka for its efforts and said he wanted to transform the Presidency into a zero-energy utility. Earlier, a solar energy system had been installed in the Presidency for the same purpose. Now, after shifting the lights to LEDs, the electricity expenditure of the Presidency will be eliminated.

Dr Arif Alvi said the government's manifesto was to reduce government expenditure, adding LED lighting was a step forward to achieve that objective, and it would also help the environment. He said that in the state of Madinah, the Holy Prophet used to attract philanthropists towards contributing more and more for the betterment of the society. "In this day and age, the same effort is called CSR."

Dr Arif Alvi added that a tender had been issued for the project, which could have cost much money, but Osaka had saved the national exchequer by taking the initiative to complete the entire project under CSR.

Earlier, while delivering a welcome address, Osaka CEO Shamim Ahmed said it was an honour for Osaka to serve the most critical institution in Pakistan. Osaka has also introduced LED lighting in the Parliament House and looks forward to serving other important government institutions in the future.

He said the tender for the project had been issued, but due to the personal interest of the President of Pakistan, the project would be completed by Osaka under its CSR programme. The CEO of Osaka further added that for every positive step taken by the government, the business community would take four steps forward. "We are with the government in every positive change."

Shamim Ahmed said Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan had given a special package of Rs 11 billion to Karachi. He requested the President of Pakistan on behalf of the business community of Karachi to ensure that the budget was spent on Karachi. He added that the business community wanted the President to oversee the entire process and make sure that every penny of the fund was spent in the right place. He assured Dr Alvi that the business community would whole-heartedly support every effort to develop Karachi and Pakistan.-PR

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020