Administrator Karachi in conversation with the Executive Director IBA

The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi organized a discourse on ‘Karachi: The Way Forward’ by the Administrator Karachi, Mr. Murtaza Wahab, at the IBA City Campus. Attendees included the IBA faculty, students and alumni, media, members from the academia, corporate sector and diplomatic corps.

Mr. Wahab, Barrister by profession, has been associated with the Government of Sindh since 2015. He currently serves as Advisor to the Chief Minister Sindh on Law and as Administrator Karachi.

Dr. Zaidi welcomed Mr. Wahab to the IBA and quizzed him on his strategy for solving the many administrative and municipal affairs of the largest metropolis of Pakistan, Karachi.

Mr. Wahab thanked Dr. Zaidi for the opportunity to communicate with the future leaders of Pakistan. He briefed the audience about his educational background abroad and mentioned that he decided to come back and serve his city as he felt a sense of belonging and responsibility towards Karachi. As Advisor to the Chief Minister Sindh on Law, Mr. Wahab facilitated in passing some integral legislations, including a legislation for recording Hindu marriages in 2015-2016 (Sindh is the first province in Pakistan to introduce this Act) and in 2019, the Sindh Government passed a law to establish the basic rights for the prisoners. Furthermore, he played an instrumental role in developing the Sandspit road and Manora beach front.

Inquiring about Karachi’s urban flooding and debilitating road infrastructure in times of monsoon rains every year, Dr. Zaidi inquired how the Sindh Government was planning to solve the problem. Dr. Zaidi also quizzed about resolving the overall deteriorating municipal management issues, including broken roads and lack of cleanliness in the city.

Elaborating the Sindh government’s strategy on maintaining the administrative and municipal affairs of the metropolis, Mr. Wahab said that the Government of Sindh has developed urban spaces for the people of Karachi among other projects. But due to the political polarization of the city, where 17 different agencies have control of different administrative areas of Karachi, the Sindh Government’s hands are tied as it doesn’t have the sole control of the city’s administration.

Discussing the city’s sanitation, Mr. Wahab said that garbage collection drives will be initiated in the 7 divisions of the city, with the first one initiating in the worst effected Korangi District and within 2-3 months things will improve on this front. He further said that the Sindh Government will be implementing a garbage plant to produce power and electricity from the city’s waste.

Dr. Zaidi also inquired about the city’s law and order situation and what the Sindh Government was doing before the elections to remedy the lawlessness of the city.

Mr. Wahab said that adequate measures were being taken to mitigate the situation and he also urged the audience and the citizens of the city to use the power of their vote wisely, to educate themselves of all the facts before making an informed decision to select the best candidate for the betterment of the city.

Following the conversation, an engaging Q&A session ensued between Mr. Wahab and the audience.

Dr. Zaidi presented a memento to Mr. Wahab at the end of the discourse.