Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab on Thursday announced that around 11,500 employees of the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) have been provided with health insurance, with the formal launch having taken effect immediately.
Speaking at a ceremony at the KMC head office, where medical insurance cards, service vehicles and laptops were distributed, Wahab claimed that the KMC has become the first municipal institution in Pakistan to implement a medical insurance policy for its employees.
He said KMC employees used to seek recommendations for medical treatment, while emergency- and hospital-related files moved through several departments before reaching the Mayor’s Office for approval of expenses.
Health care is a matter in which even a few minutes’ delay can lead to serious consequences, so the City Council adopted a labour-friendly policy and decided to provide health insurance to employees, he added.
He explained that KMC employees would receive medical coverage ranging from Rs150,000 to Rs600,000 and would be able to seek treatment at 200 hospitals through health cards.
He said the KMC is working under principles of transparency and accountability to ensure citizens receive their rights in a timely manner. In collaboration with the World Bank and the government, the KMC is working on various development projects to provide modern and convenient facilities to citizens, he added.
He also said citizens used to have to visit multiple offices for property mutation and obtaining NOCs, but now the KMC has decided to introduce a one-window operation system, under which citizens would be able to apply online for various NOCs through a website or mobile app.
He pointed out that challans as well as other related procedures would also be processed online from now on, helping reduce corruption and making services more accessible.
He said computers and other necessary equipment have been provided to different departments to eliminate obstacles in office work and ensure that no employee can cite a lack of facilities or faulty computers as an excuse for delays, while additional vehicles have also been provided to improve public service delivery.
He termed this week highly significant for Karachi because several major development projects are nearing completion, saying that while the Lyari Expressway’s construction took 16-17 years, Shahrah-e-Bhutto is a historic project to be completed at the local government level without federal government involvement for the first time in Pakistan’s history.
He said that the 39km-long, six-lane Shahrah-e-Bhutto has been constructed from Qayyumabad to Kathore and would provide citizens with a modern and rapid transportation facility. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will formally inaugurate the highway on Friday (today), he added.
Wahab also announced that land has been allocated at the Beach View Park for the establishment of a city museum to preserve Karachi’s cultural and historical heritage.
He said the Sindh chief minister would lay the foundation stone of the project on Sunday. A modern city museum will be established within the next 12 months to educate citizens and foreign visitors about Karachi’s history, culture and identity, he added.
He also said that even though the Pakistan Steel Mills symbolises the country’s industrial development, the federal government has failed to address the issue of the Steel Mills’ administration suspending water supply to Gulshan-e-Hadeed and Steel Town.
The KMC has utilised its own resources to build infrastructure from Pipri, after which five million gallons of water a day will be supplied to Steel Town and Gulshan-e-Hadeed residents, he added.
Wahab said that the completion of Shahrah-e-Bhutto would provide an alternative route for heavy traffic, while opening the Lyari Expressway for heavy vehicles would significantly reduce traffic congestion in the city.
