KARACHI: City Administrator barrister Murtaza Wahab on Tuesday said that adequate resources and good intention were necessary to run any organisation in a better way, adding that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation was now moving towards reforms to address the financial woes of the city municipality.

“The KMC is now moving towards reforms, putting records of estate, land and other departments online to bringing transparency and to improve the institution. Instead of crying out for powers and authority, I will point out that the real issue is intention,” he said and added that no institution could function without financial stability.

The administrator was addressing a press conference at the KMC headquarters here.

He said that he wanted to do something for this city as per his mandate. “It is repeatedly said in the past that there was a lack of power, but actually there was a lack of will,” he added.

Murtaza Wahab said that the KMC had started bringing about major reforms in the estate department to improve the situation. “The rent of KMC shops used to be Rs50 million annually till a year and a half ago, which has now increased to Rs150 million,” he said and added that more than Rs45m had been collected in the first three months of the current financial year alone, by eliminating the charged parking mafia, he added.

The administrator said that the revenue collection from oil tankers and bus terminals had also been started while KPT had also been written a letter for payment of Rs650m dues.

He said that barely Rs151.6m was collected in the head of municipal utility tax.

“The KMC will get Rs600m per month and Rs7.20 billion per annum from the collection of Rs200 per user through K-Electric bills.”

The administrator said that any future mayor would need the money to run the city.

“Details of full collection and expenditure of municipal utility tax will be made public and [we] will not hide anything,” he said.

He said that he had three options — ask the federal government for help, ask the provincial government or make KMC stand on its feet.

“Hopefully, the federal government and other agencies will play a positive role in recovering the municipal utility tax on electricity bills and the courts will decide on the KMC’s point of view before giving a stay on the KMC’s revenue matters,” he said.

The administrator said that all records related to the estate department, land department, charged parking, parks and terminals had been uploaded on the KMC’s website under the title of e-Department and citizens can see the progress there.

Published in Dawn, September 22nd, 2021