Karachi Water Partnership (KWP) Partners Meeting

5^th June, 2008

Karachi Water Partnership (KWP), Panos Pakistan and the Water & Sanitation Program–South Asia organized a “One-Day Consultative Seminar on Sharing the Findings of the Citizen Report Card (CRC) and KWP Partners Meeting”, on Thursday, June 5, 2008 .

The morning session was conducted by Panos Pakistan in coordination with the Water & Sanitation Program – South Asia (WSP-SA). WSP-SA has assisted in the CRC process and facilitated the efforts of the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board (KW&SB) in bringing about institutional reform.

The afternoon session featured the KWP Partners Meeting, where a number of special guests and important speakers were present. Mr Syed Mustafa Kamal, City Nazim, Karachi , spoke on the role of the government in public private partnerships. Mr Tasneem Siddiqui, Chair KWP Advisory Council, presented his views on the way forward and stressed the need for transparency in the operations of  boards and committees related to the water sector.

Mr Asif Qadir, President, Engro Polymer talked about the importance of corporate social responsibility . He offered his support to KWP for its efforts in the conservation of water.

Mr Suleman Chandio, Managing Director, Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KW&SB) pledged support for KWP’s goals and initiatives and touched on the challenges faced by KW&SB.

Brief presentations were also made by representatives of each KWP partner group - citizens/households, schools, universities, media, NGOs and international organizations.

The Partners Meeting was attended by over 250 people and included individual and organizational partners of KWP, KWP committee members, members of Hisaar Foundation, government officials, corporate heads, representatives of NGOs and civil society organizations, school heads, teachers and university students from Karachi University .