Business Recorder
KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi chief Monem Zafar Khan on Saturday demanded the abolition of the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB), accusing the institution of 12 years of failure, incompetence, and corruption. Speaking at a gathering of JI town and union council chairmen and city council members at Idara Noor-i-Haq, Zafar said Karachi had been turned into a “heap of garbage” due to what he called the government’s flawed decision to centralise the megacity’s sanitation system in 2014. He said that the sanitation mechanism previously operating under the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), towns, and union councils was taken over by the provincial government, but the move had yielded “zero performance.” “Even after 12 years, Karachi remains buried under garbage, and its residents continue to suffer because of this anti-Karachi decision,” he said. Zafar criticized the city mayor, who also serves as chairman of the SSWMB, alleging that the board’s annual budget of Rs43 billion was being wasted due to mismanagement and corruption. He demanded that the board be dissolved and its powers be transferred to the town and union council level. He also called for fresh garbage collection contracts to be signed with town administrations, adding that contractor payments should be subject to verification by town chairmen. The JI leader further demanded a forensic audit of the SSWMB’s 12-year performance, as well as details of billions of rupees collected under the Municipal Utility Charges and Taxes (MUCT) meant for the KMC. He said the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government, which has ruled Sindh for nearly 18 years, had deprived Karachi of its institutions, resources, and basic civic services. “The megacity’s infrastructure has collapsed, while citizens continue to face serious problems relating to water, transport, roads, and sanitation.” Referring to Article 140-A of the Constitution, Zafar said the provincial government was unwilling to devolve powers and resources to elected local bodies. He reiterated JI’s stance that Karachi’s issues could only be resolved through an empowered city government with administrative and financial control over all civic institutions. Speaking on the occasion, KMC opposition leader Saifuddin Advocate said town representatives had recently met SSWMB officials and conveyed concerns over poor waste collection and sanitation arrangements in various localities. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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