Karachi Mayor Wahab and Opposition Leader Saifuddin Trade Barbs Over Development Work
Mayor Murtaza Wahab says KMC is spending billions from its own resources across all seven districts of Karachi; opposition leader Saifuddin demands an audit and questions the Hub Canal and Lyari K-III pipeline, in a row over the pace and quality of development work.
Karachi’s mayor says development work has resumed across all seven districts of the city after years of neglect. Within an hour, the City Council’s opposition leader held his own press conference to ask a simpler question: if so much money is being spent, why does so much of the work crack, collapse or stay unfinished?
Highlights
- The mayor’s claim: KMC has announced a development budget of Rs68bn to Rs70bn for the current financial year, with schemes worth billions under way from its own resources — including about 140 roads at around Rs13bn.
- The opposition’s reply: Advocate Saifuddin questioned quality, transparency and pace, demanding an audit of development funds and details of incomplete schemes.
- Flashpoint 1: The Rs12bn Hub Canal, which the opposition says developed cracks and damage just three days after inauguration.
- Flashpoint 2: The 10-million-gallon-per-day K-III water pipeline in Lyari — the mayor says it is complete and will be tested within days; the opposition says a section collapsed during installation.
Two press conferences, one city
A war of words over the city’s development erupted between the mayor and the opposition on Monday, with Mayor Murtaza Wahab claiming that development work had resumed across all seven districts after years of neglect, while Opposition Leader in the City Council Advocate Saifuddin questioned the quality, transparency and pace of the projects, demanding a detailed account of development funds and incomplete schemes Dawn reported on 3 November. Addressing a press conference, the mayor said the city was witnessing development without political discrimination, citing ongoing road, water, sewerage, healthcare, sanitation and infrastructure projects according to Dawn. He said the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) was spending billions of rupees from its own resources and urged town municipal corporations (TMCs), especially those controlled by the opposition Jamaat-i-Islami and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, to work alongside the city government rather than make excuses about limited powers and funds Dawn reported.
The mayor put his message in one line, quoted in full:
“Instead of making excuses about a lack of powers and resources, there is a need for commitment and practical action.”
The quote is as published by Dawn on 3 November; he added that the city government had taken the initiative and development work was now under way across all seven districts Dawn reported. A wire account of the same press conference adds operational detail: tendering for the roughly 140 roads had been completed, work orders were to be issued within two to three days, and work was expected to start by the end of the week at a cost of about Rs13 billion APP reported via UrduPoint on 2 November. Another report of the mayor’s remarks records his line that Sindh is the only province in Pakistan with an established local government system The Nation reported on 3 November.
The mayor’s list
Addressing the press conference at KMC headquarters, the mayor said his corporation had announced a development budget of Rs68 billion to Rs70bn for the current financial year, adding that projects worth billions of rupees were under way across Karachi Dawn reported. He said KMC was carrying out several major schemes from its own resources, including the Chakor Nullah Expressway, being built at a cost of around Rs1bn and expected to open within 30 to 35 days, and the rehabilitation of approximately 140 roads at an estimated cost of Rs13bn according to Dawn. A further Rs1bn was being spent on replacing streetlights along 41 major roads, while a new flyover on Garden Nishtar Road, also costing around Rs1bn, was expected to be completed within 100 days Dawn reported.
On water supply, the mayor said the 10-million-gallon-per-day K-III elevated water pipeline for Lyari had been completed and would undergo testing within seven to eight days Dawn reported. The new block of Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, covering 200,000 square feet, had been completed with outpatient services expected to begin within the week, and three garbage transfer stations were nearing completion with around Rs30bn being invested in waste management according to Dawn. Money arguments of this scale are not unique to Karachi — in the capital, citizens hit by failed schemes have gone further and demanded forensic scrutiny, as Titans Infos reported on the forensic audit demand by Islamabad housing society victims.
The opposition’s counter-list
Hardly an hour after the mayor’s presser, the opposition leader held a counter press conference at his office, challenging the mayor’s claims, demanding accountability for development spending and questioning the quality of major infrastructure projects Dawn reported. He rejected the mayor’s claims and said residents were facing difficulties because of poor-quality work in various towns; calling for accountability within his own party’s jurisdictions, he asked the mayor for an audit of development funds allocated to the TMCs that come under JI, and questioned how many KMC Annual Development Programme (ADP) schemes had been completed and how many remained unfinished despite payments according to Dawn.
His sharpest example was the Hub Canal, reportedly built for Rs12bn, which he claimed developed cracks and suffered damage just three days after its inauguration, with a section reportedly breaking even during construction; he also referred to concerns raised by World Bank representatives over safety measures during repair work on the project Dawn reported. On the K-III pipeline in Lyari, Mr Saifuddin claimed a section had collapsed during installation and remained in that condition for a long time, causing difficulties for residents, and said the authorities must explain the quality of construction and the safeguards adopted in major public projects according to Dawn. These are claims by the opposition leader as reported by Dawn, not findings this article can independently confirm — which is precisely why the audit demand matters: the city’s local finances are already the subject of a major reform programme, after the World Bank approved $150 million to help Sindh digitise Karachi’s property tax, and disputes in Karachi’s courts continue to produce their own accountability tests, including the recent bail granted to Iqrarul Hassan in a PECA case as the court questioned the prosecution.
What to watch next
The mayor has set his own deadlines, and they arrive fast: the K-III pipeline test within seven to eight days, the Chakor Nullah Expressway opening within 30 to 35 days, Abbasi Shaheed outpatients within the week. Each date is a public promise the opposition can check without a single file. The slower question is the audit: whether KMC publishes completed-versus-unfinished ADP scheme details, and whether the Hub Canal and K-III quality claims get an engineering answer rather than another press conference. Karachi residents, who live with the roads either way, will judge the work by the oldest test of all — whether it survives its first season.
