One year of Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim's government

Chief Minister Sindh belongs to a renowned political family of the province whose members have been getting elected to public offices in different elections. The political foresight and the administrative abilities of Dr Arbab Rahim were put to the test when last year in the same month he took over the charge of the Chief Minister Sindh.
This is an accepted fact that for the last many years the province of Sindh has been suffering acutely from many problems, which were political and administrative in nature, therefore, all these problems cannot be solved overnight.
But this much can be said with confidence that results of the steps the present government has taken are now in evidence. As soon as Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim took charge of the government, he announced that good governance in the province would be the first priority of the government. The other aspect of his political strategy was to improve the irrigation system.
We all know that the protection of the lives and the properties of the people is the first priority of every government. The Chief Minister gave the second priority to the improvement in the water distribution system and took to make it more effective.
For the last many years, the Government of Sindh was facing an acute shortage of water. The complaint was widespread that the crops were suffering because of the shortage of water. Drought prevailed in Thar, Kacho and Kohistan for the last many years. Complaints about the theft of water and of leaving the tail Enders of the canal network without water was widespread.
Making the distribution of water just and equitable was the prime need of the hour. In order to translate his will into reality he hired the services of a man like Nadir Akmal Leghari. In addition to this many administrative changes were brought into the administrative set up.
He gave surprise visits and tried to improve the situation by meeting the elected representatives of the 'abadgar'. It is because of this that it can be said that the situation has taken a turn for the better and that there are very bright chances of it improving further.
As far as the improvement in the law and order situation is concerned, it is indeed not ideal but it has certainly improved a lot. Everyone living in Karachi and Sindh has heaved a sigh of relief. The extent of the local and foreign investments in the province is on the increase and the investors are moving ahead to make more investments. New records have been set in Karachi Stock Exchange.
The other achievement of Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim is to launch a 'Jehad' against bribery, nepotism and corruption. We have but few examples of this happening from the top. In the past what has been happening was that a move against bribery and corruption started from the lower rungs of the government. It usually happened that after taking action against a few officials the matter was closed. Dr Arbab Rahim did not follow the established pattern. He began taking action from the top which made a sensation in bureaucracy.
People who were steeped in bribery, corruption and nepotism, resented the moves the CM made and blamed him of taking action against them because of personal grievances. But people by and large know what is at stake and what the issues really are.
The CM has ordered action against corrupt officials of the Board of Revenue, Irrigation, Education and Agriculture. He has also ordered action against the corrupt officials of all other departments. Recently the CM has ordered enquiry against the irregularities in the construction of the Chotiari Dam. The people of Sindh think that the CM has taken an irrevocable stand against corruption, which is reflected in his declaration to the effect that even if his Government came to an end in the 'Jihad' against corruption, he will yet leave behind an example to be emulated.
Last one year's performance has shown that Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim is a politician who does not sacrifice principles to expediency. From the day one, he took up the stand that new dams should be built but since the people of Sindh have objections against the Kalabagh Dam, a dam could be built in Skurdu or any other place.
It should be mentioned here that Dr Arbab declared it from the outset that it was beyond him to work for evolving a consensus on the Kalabagh Dam among the people of Sindh. Apart from Kalabagh Dam, all stands Dr Arbab took have been principled stands.
Getting the ban lifted on employment's is also a major achievement of the Sindh Government. In the last ten years the ban on employment's among the educated young men of the province had spread frustration among them.
According to the announcement of the CM the new jobs will be given only on merit.
All appointments will be transparent. Ads in the Press also upheld the resolve of the CM. Interviews were being conducted and a new wave of giving appointments has started. Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim has averred that these appointments will be only on merit and there will be no quota for any Advisor, M.P.A. or Minister.
Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim is well aware of the fact that without improving the education system in Sindh realising any dream of social or economic progress is not possible.
To improve the working of the Education Department, the CM has hired the services of an expert in education, which is Dr Hamida Khuro. It is now the endeavour of Chief Minister to make every possible effort to improve the standard of education in the province.
The Chief Minister has requested the Federal Government that opportunities should be brought into existence in the province for effective vocational and technical education. The Federal Government has approved this and funds will be provided soon.
Although the National Finance Commission Award has not been announced (not till the writing of these lines) yet development activities are in full swing. In the current fiscal year an allocation of Rs 20 billion has been made for the development works, which is 62% more than last year. It is not only for Karachi and Hyderabad but for other rural areas as well that special packages have been announced on which rapid application is on.
It is because of the personal effort of the Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, a development package of Rs 12 billion has been announced. Under the Thar package 14 short term development plans have been prepared and sent to the Federal Government for approval. Three projects in the Thar package costing Rs 600 millions have been approved.
The Government has begun work on the development of the Gorakh hill station. Work on the 53 kms long road from Wai Pandi to Gorakh has begun which will bear fruition in the current month. Besides this, a scheme of Rs one billion to turn Gorakh into the summer capital of Sindh is awaiting the approval of ECNEC.
To make the irrigation system more effective the Federal Government has begun work on cementing 29 watercourses. In the current year 5,760 water courses will be cemented. With the help of the Federal Government repair work on the Sukkur Barrage has been completed before time.
The government of Sindh has concluded an agreement with a well-known US firm for constructing a 100 MW power house in Thar. An infrastructure for providing the basic necessities in Thar is being prepared. Work on constructing eight new roads is in progress.
In addition to this, work on the provision of water is in progress from Mithi to Islamkot, from Islamkot to Goth Thari Halipoto and on a scheme from Umarkot to Ratno and Bhagal and from Samo to Rank Dehar. When work on these schemes is finished 96,000 more people will get drinking water facilities.
In addition to the development plans, which are to be completed this year, are up gradation of 300 primary schools, equipping 206 colleges and universities with computer labs, provision of 3,000 new jobs to teachers, setting up of 20 elementary schools and 15 community schools for girls and plans for planting trees on 6957 hectares.
In addition to this as a result of the personal interest of the Chief Minister, five important development schemes have been sent to the Federal Government so that these can be included in the current fiscal year. When we take a look on the development schemes in the current fiscal year, it appears, that the first year of the tenure of Dr Arab Ghulam Rahim has been very successful in terms of social and economic progress. Next year, Insha Allah better results will be secured.