APNS condemns delay by Sindh Information dept in clearing dues
KARACHI: The APNS on Wednesday strongly condemned the inordinate delay by the Sindh Information to clear the long outstanding dues despite clear assurances by the chief minister Sindh to the APNS, stated a press release of the APNS.
Masood Hamid, Secretary General APNS, stated that a meeting of the Sindh-based member publications of the APNS, chaired by President APNS Sarmad Ali, deplored the consistent indifference of the Sindh Information Department to clear the dues of member publications amounting to Rs427.00 million and dues of advertising agencies for Rs146.00 million pertaining to the last two years for ads released by the Sindh Information Department.
The outstanding amount is being added up by non-payment of current dues. The members noted that despite assurances by Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Chief Minister Sindh, the Information Department has resorted to default on the payment of legitimate dues of member publications, which has caused an acute financial crunch for the print media. This situation has placed the newspaper establishments in a position where they cannot meet their obligations towards their employees and other vendors.
The member publications were astonished to note that while the dues of print media had been withheld on the pretext of financial constraints, the Sindh Information has approved an advertisement campaign of Rs200.00 million to highlight its four-year performance.
The campaign has been launched on electronic media with a bare minimum share for the print media. It is surprising that the Sindh Information Department has decided to divert to electronic media in a province plunged with darkness thanks to the 12 to 18 hours loadshedding in the province, which is a sheer waste of public money.
The Sindh-based members of the APNS insisted strong action against the Sindh Information Department to recover the long pending dues and suggested different actions, including an advertisement campaign in member publications to highlight the default of Sindh government, meetings with the members and leaders of different parliamentary groups in the Sindh Assembly and suspension of advertisements issued by the Sindh Information Department. The members authorised the president and the secretary general to take appropriate action in this respect.
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