At least three recent stories coming out of Karachi show good governance continues to be of little concern for the Sindh government. First of course is the situation in the Thar district that remains in the news because of people dying from hunger and starvation. And second, a citizen's campaign to draw the government's attention to open manholes, overflowing sewers and mountains of garbage in different parts of Karachi. Third is Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah's untenable logic not to empower the newly-elected city governments.
Nearly 70 children have died in Thar during the current month. This is the number for children brought to the area's under-resourced, under-equipped hospitals. No one knows how many died at home. The situation would be deeply disturbing for any responsible government, but not the one ruling Sindh. It stayed unmoved until compelled to take notice of the media reports of children dying in large numbers. Adviser to Sindh Chief Minister on information Maula Bux Chandio along with senior minister for education and literacy Nisar Ahmad Khuhro visited the other day the affected areas, where the duo chided the media for depicting "doomsday-like" conditions, declaring that the situation was not so alarming, and that things were well under control in the whole district. According to them, what was happening was entirely the fault of the local people. In particularly callous remarks, repeated by various other members of the provincial cabinet, Chandio said that the children were dying because of the carelessness of their mothers and underage marriages, for which the government is not to blame. It would be helpful if these leading lights of the Sindh government also explain why is it that women in Thar lack the universal motherly instinct to protect their offspring? And also that why has the child mortality rate suddenly spiked in Thar and not in any other part of the country? They must know that underage marriages, as undesirable as they are, happen elsewhere also, especially in economically backward areas, such as interior Sindh. Why then young mothers only in Thar are more prone to lose their children than in the other districts?
The reason is not difficult to see considering that for the last three years Thar has been experiencing drought conditions without getting necessary succor from the provincial authorities. Television footage has been showing small starving bodies fighting for their lives in the area's main hospital at Mithi. Severely undernourished bodies cannot defend themselves against disease. No wonder a press report quotes a Mithi hospital doctor saying, "You name it and the children who are admitted here have that disease." Another doctor is reported to be grumbling that in a 174-bed hospital the budget provided covers only 74 beds. It does not take much to figure out who is to blame for the suffering of these poor children: careless mothers or a negligent government.
As for the second issue, exasperated over governmental indifference a concerned citizen recently launched a campaign to attract attention to open manholes by drawing a sketch of the Chief Minister next to 40 such places with the "fix it" demand. The effort of course was not appreciated. If the person in question is to be believed, his family is being harassed by the police to stop the audacious act. It is worthwhile to recall that last November the Supreme Court, taking notice of the heaps of garbage and overflowing sewages, had directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to submit a detailed report on the state of affairs as well as availability of resources to clean the city. Yet as the 'fix it' drive shows nothing happened since the KMC administrator had then informed the court there were not enough resources to give salaries to employees or to collect garbage because of what he left unstated, ie, the government's 'couldn't care less' attitude.
Media spotlight on "fix it" has finally jolted the CM into action. He accompanied by the city commissioner and KMC administrator went on an inspection tour last Sunday, criticising the various civic bodies and giving them two weeks to improve sewage and sanitation conditions. Admonishing the officials concerned, he said it was not his duty to remind them of their duty and functions. Of course not. It was for local governments to take care of such affairs and a lot more in Karachi and other areas-something his government is loathe to accepting. It wouldn't even hold LG elections until forced by the Supreme Court.
The CM made it clear in his own inimitable, nonsensical way that the provincial government is not about to devolve power to the newly elected local government in Karachi (and, of course, in other places) where the MQM is poised to install its candidate for mayorship. Talking to a Karachi Press Club delegation on Monday, he made a novel comment about the MQM's demand for the empowerment of LGs, saying since the Karachi mayor is yet to be elected, who the MQM is seeking power for? He surely knows that the issue here is related not to a particular individual or what the MQM wants but the very notion of decentralisation of power so that local communities can best address local problems at local level. Later on, he averred that the post of mayor would only have such powers as are enshrined in the Local Governments Act, 2013.The law was made by the same party, which never tires of reminding the federal government that it must respect provincial autonomy the 18th Amendment grants Sindh. By the same token, it ought to accord due respect to the third tier of government by giving it its due rights. That though is a vain hope considering the PPP leadership's penchant for creating trouble for itself. The MQM is unlikely to give up the fight for properly empowered LGs. Where and how the fight might end is any body's guess. But one thing is sure: it will generate a lot of heat and dust. saida_fazal@yahoo.com