Damned if you do, damned if you don't

At lunch in Karachi with the some urban conservationist and environmental activists, I was surprised to hear someone from the group put forward the suggestion that the CDGK would be less inclined to convert amenity plots to residential or commercial plots if they got their money from taxes instead.

The idea is a good one. Our cities are broke. They are incredibly badly managed - politically and financially. I know that most of the revenue for CDGL and the LDA comes from Provincial Government receipts. City governments, strapped of cash, are then forced to turn to sell its assets (the first to go are parks and amenity plots) to generate revenue.

If only local governments were financially independent, goes the argument. Of course, our local government laws enable local govenments to raise funds by collecting taxes and fees, but this is rarely done.

Recently, the "dynamic" Nazim of Karachi decided to impsoe a municipal levi on municipal services. And guess what: he gets loads of criticism. Damned if you, damned if you don't.