Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah says that problems existed, continue to persist and will persist for some more time in the province when it comes to implementing meaningful, long-reaching reforms.

He was talking to a duo of journalists from DawnNews talkshow 'Zara Hut Kay's in connection with the performance of the provincial government over the last year. Shah has completed a year as the top minister in the province.

"After my appointment as the chief minister, I ensured that timings were being followed. I started to visit offices and hold meetings at 9am. Secondly, I appointed capable officers on key posts, besides binding all officials to remain in their own districts," he recalled.

He admitted that he was facing constraints in the appointments and posting of officers in the education department. "When we took charge, a large number of schools were nonfunctional because of the unavailability of teachers," he said, adding that the situation in various schools was assessed and some staffers were shifted to where they were needed most.

He also talked about the political and institutional pressures he faced. "Teachers take postings of their own will and they enjoy the support of powerful unions," he added.

"If I want to sack even a single nonperforming employee, courts and tribunals will not let me do so. We can handle political pressures but not institutional," said the chief minister.

Talking about the dismal situation of Sindh's health sector, he said he realised the gravity of the situation but placed the onus of responsibility on the bureaucracy. "We have 6,500 vacant seats for doctors in the province and we have been trying to hire doctors for the last two years," he said.

The CM also recalled that a written test had been conducted by the Sindh Public Service Commission for the recruitment of doctors, in which around 9,000 doctors appeared, out of which more than 6,000 cleared the examination. "During a meeting, I directed the the authorities to recruit all the doctors who passed the exam, but the matter is still pending," he said.

When asked about the quality of developments works and particularly roads in the province, he squarely blamed corrupt contractors in general. "The people are not faithful and honest," he complained.

"In the past, accountability measures were said to have been applied but it was all in vein as it was nothing more than an eyewash," he said.

Speaking about the development works initiated during his tenure, he said that being an engineer by study, he knew the technicalities of development work so he involved his professors in the inspection process of recent projects.

"In fact, most of the officers who are overseeing development works were my university fellows, so I told them that I want only fair play in the province," he said.

When asked about the drainage of water from roads during monsoon, he said that only natural drainage can ensure that water does not accumulate during rains; however, he conceded that municipality authorities need to be efficient in removing water from roads as soon as possible.

Talking about the issue of garbage collection in Karachi, he said that the Solid Waste Management Board was established through legislation in 2014 because local bodies were not capable of tackling the issue of garbage collection in the city simply due to the quantity of trash generated.

Furthermore, he said, "We took over only two districts of Karachi." He claimed that the 'results' there have proven that the provincial government has brought betterment in this regard.

He also claimed that the government was not guilty of any favouritism in this matter. The provincial government was also intervening in districts other than Karachi. "We are equipping local bodies in other parts of the province as well," he said.

The CM also rejected the impression that there was a dispute between Sindh's Inspector General of Police (IGP) and the government. He avoided answering when asked whom would he choose between A.D. Khawaja (the incumbent) and Rao Anwar (SSP Malir) for the post of IGP.

"There is no dispute. The provincial govt has the right and the power to appoint officials in the province," he said.

Responding to a question regarding an impression that the IGP and the provincial government had developed differences over recruitment of officials, he again said, "There was no dispute on recruitment. The orders for recruitment were passed by former chief minister Qaim Ali Shah and it was decided that the support of the army will also be sought in the process."

"I take full responsibility for these postings," he added, referring to recent shuffles in the police's senior leadership in the province.

He further said that he did not restrict the powers of the IG but "decentralised" them. "I also did this in the health and education departments," he said.

Talking about the anti corruption bill, he said that the bill has not been withdrawn. "Some objections were raised by the governor and we are working on it," he said, adding that the assembly committed a mistake in this regard as it maintained the age limit at 18 years for the change of religion. Later, the question was raised that the law would also bar families from acceptance of Islam, he added.

"We will bring the bill back, this is on the cards and we are consulting with all stake holders," he said while rescuing himself from giving any timeframe in this regard.

When asked about the extension of the powers of Rangers on a routine basis, he said that the powers were bestowed to the Rangers for a particular task. He recalled that a recent meeting of high-ups, in which Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Jawed Bajwa was also participating, had agreed that the city would be declared peaceful when the civilian authorities would be able to maintain law and order in Karachi.

He said that the Rangers had overstepped several times from their domain, particularly during the tenure of Qaim Ali Shah. "The issue was taken up with the higher authorities of the paramilitary force and they had they admitted [the same]. Now the issue is almost resolved."

In 2018, he said the party will seek a mandate on the basis of its performance in the province.