KARACHI: The recent episode of score settling between city Mayor Wasim Akhtar and Pak Sarzameen Party chairman Syed Mustafa Kamal over sanitation in the city ended on an anticlimactic note on Tuesday when the mayor suspended the latter from the post of ‘Project Director Garbage’ less than 24 hours after his appointment.

“I had appointed him thinking that he sincerely wanted to solve the city’s problems. However, after the press conference he held last night, it is clear that Kamal only wants to play politics,” the mayor told the media.

Talking to Dawn, he said that he had designated Mr Kamal as a project director as he had claimed that he would rid the city of garbage within three months. “However, Mustafa Kamal instead of doing work did politics and that’s why he has been suspended,” he added.

The ongoing war of words between Mr Akhtar and Mr Kamal had taken a dramatic turn on Monday when the mayor “designated” the latter as “Project Director Garbage on voluntary basis” to clean the city.

Mayor suspends ‘project director’ appointed to clear city of garbage

Talking to the media on Tuesday, the mayor said that he had responded positively to Mr Kamal’s request, setting aside all the differences they had had in the past. “But my sincerity was misconstrued,” he added.

He alleged that the PSP chief used his move to play politics. “He took out a rally, gathered his party workers, called the media and started saying those same vile things that he had said about me before,” the mayor said, adding that it meant that all Mr Kamal wanted to do was indulge in politicking.

Mr Kamal had arrived with supporters at the garbage transfer station next to the Asghar Ali Shah stadium in North Nazimabad early Tuesday morning following his ‘designation’ as project director garbage.

The mayor said that the former nazim should have come to the municipal works department head office, and given a formal joining report there. “You [Mr Kamal] should have shared your 90-day plan and the formula you had for clearing Karachi in 90 days with us so that we all could have proceeded on the matter with seriousness,” he said.

Mr Akhtar said that Mr Kamal tried to act as if he had been given all mayoral powers and districts had come under him.

‘Not playing politics’

Syed Mustafa Kamal reacted sharply to the mayor’s decision to suspend him and rejected Mr Akhtar’s allegation that he was playing politics.

“If I was playing politics, I would not have called a man, who is a member of my opposing party, my boss in front of the entire world,” he told a hurriedly-called press conference after his suspension from the position.

Dismissing the argument that he should have reported to the mayor’s office and shared his plan, the PSP chief said that the city had become a ruin because everyone was sitting in his office.

“This city has become a ruin because you keep sitting in your office,” the former mayor said.

He once again said that the current resources and authority granted to the mayor were enough to manage the city. He also repeated his offer to clean the city within three months if granted the authority that the mayor possessed.

Meanwhile, the mayor said that 1,200 tonnes of garbage was lifted and removed from under the Water Pump flyover in district Central.

He said the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation helped the district municipal administrations and provided to them machinery and vehicles for garbage removal as they did not have resources. “More than 80 per cent of district Central has been cleaned now,” he said, adding that fumigation drive was also under way.

The mayor said that garbage lifting was not the KMC’s responsibility. “However, we are extending assistance and cooperation to the district administration in cleaning works to provide relief to the people,” he added.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2019