Karachi:
Former federal secretary, the caretaker provincial minister and current President of the Policy Research and Advisory Council, Muhammad Younus Dagha, has said that Karachi has incurred an estimated financial loss of RS3,360 billion due to suspension of direct GST transfers, deficiencies in development financing and incorrect management of infrastructure development development (IDC).
When he spoke at the launch of his research article, Dagha said the Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) has been dysfunctional since 2009 due to structural weaknesses. During this time, he said, the government had withdrawn several core functions from local bodies, including water supply, sanitation, fixed waste management, master planning, building control, transport, mass transport, soil control, education and healthcare. This centralization, he argued, has led to a constant decline in social indicators, especially in education and health.
Dagha explained that IDC, which was introduced in 1994 to finance Karachi’s infrastructure, has not been used for its intended purpose. Instead of creating a dedicated fund, he claimed, collections have been redirected illegally to provincial accounts. “Last year alone, RS170Billion was erected through IDC, while total collections are estimated to be around RS1Trillion to date,” he revealed.
According to him, Karachi today requires between $ 9 and $ 10 billion – about RS1.050 billion – to bridge his service and infrastructure deficit. “Failure to transform Karachi into a habitable city will continue to erode Pakistan’s competitiveness and economic growth,” he warned.
