Karachi

In a bid to improve both the physical and the management system of the Karachi Fish Harbour (KFH), the federal government has announced that a private company will now be responsible for running the harbour.

Until now, the harbour had been managed by the Karachi Fish Harbour Authority (KFHA), the Fishermen Cooperative Society (FCS) and the Marine Fisheries Department, until the Competitiveness Support Fund (CSF), a joint initiative of the United States Agency for International Development and the Ministry of Finance, handed it over to a private company.

Mohammad Hayat Khan, Federal Fisheries Development Commissioner, has commended the change. “This could be the right step towards bringing the harbour up to international standards,” he told The News. Khan clarified that fresh water bodies come under the jurisdiction of the provincial government, while the federal government deals with matters related to marine fisheries. With privatisation in place, a European Union (EU) team will initially be invited to the harbour to examine its hygienic conditions and to suggest improvements. Khan said that the government will implement the changes on the basis of these recommendations. However, before the EU team can visit, 200 boats will have to be modified — a task that Khan believes that the KFHA is not capable of achieving. The CSF has set aside $20 million in funds to invest in the development of the KFH, and according to Khan, they are reluctant to proceed.

“They believe that the investment may be fruitless,” he said. Khan revealed that the federal government had initiated a two-billion-rupees project to promote the fisheries sector last year. According to the plan, shrimp farming would be promoted, modern fish markets would be set up at major points in the coastal areas of Sindh and Balochistan, and projects to upgrade existing harbours would be designed.

Earlier, the CSF had proposed key initiatives to provincial and federal governments and their agencies on the basis of a document titled ‘Action Plan for Fish Quality and Adding Value at Karachi Fish Harbour’. The purpose of the roadmap was to familiarise stakeholders with how to make the KFH comply with international requirements. The action plan included the reorganisation of the management structure of the KFH, but suggested privatisation thought a private sector company structure. In addition, the CSF had also proposed having better water supply, more ice-making, rationalising the number of boats in the harbour, improving the sewerage system, and upgrading of the action halls. Eventually, after discussions with the government of Sindh, it was agreed that the way forward would be to hand over the KFH to an international management company.

However, Aijaz Ahmed Mangi, KFHA Managing Director, does not agree with the decision to privatise the KFH. “Since the KFHA is working under the provincial fisheries ministry and performing well, there should be no question of selling it,” he stated.

Mangi added that the KFHA is still officially unaware of such a decision being taken by the federal government. “We have already initiated a plan to expand the harbour,” he said.

Regardless, Hayat Khan maintained that the present management is inadequate. “Owing to the inability of the present management of provincial fisheries bodies, especially the KFHA, we could not maintain harbour affairs,” he said, and pointed to the FCS by way of example. “The FCS has lost its private identity,” said Khan. “Its entire infrastructure and management need to be changed. It is not doing well enough to initiate welfare projects for the community.”

Like Mangi, Jaffar Khwaja, FCS Administrator, complained that the federal government should take the stakeholders into confidence before taking such a decision. “Our organisation is doing well and has met its deficit,” he said. “The government should distribute tasks amongst different organisations and hold them accountable.” The majority of the fishing community and its various organisations also disagree with the decision to privatise the Harbour. Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum Chairperson, Mohammed Ali Shah, has opposed the move, and blames the Sindh government for what he terms is the inactive role of the FCS and the KFHA.

“The FCS had run the harbour and the community welfare smoothly from 1959 to 1983,” he said. He added that it was not until 1980 when the KFHA was formed, splitting the operation of the KFH into two organisations, that problems started to emerge. “We will resist the privatisation with the backing of the community, which is already struggling for the protection of its rights,” he declared. Shah claimed that political interference had never allowed the FCS, a welfare body, to work independently. He added that since the FCS was currently working in isolation, the government had different priorities. This clash that adversely affected the community.

Meawhile, President Bona Fide Fishermen and Boat Owners Association, Asif Bhatti, said that even though the (fishing) community has reservations about government-run fisheries organisations, they would not allow the operations of the harbour, and by extension, the lives of the community, to be managed by a private firm. According to Bhatti, the privatisation will hit the (fishing) community hard. “The people from the community are already being deprived of their rights,” he said. “If the government is sincere, they should set their priorities without privatising the harbour and other relevant bodies.”