Muscat, march 25 - Majlis Ash’shura today concluded discussions on the statement of Ahmed bin Abdullah al Shuhi, Minister of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, in the session chaired by Khalid bin Hilal al Maawali, Chairman of Majlis Ash’shura. The two-day discussions focused on municipalities management, municipal services in various Wilayats of the Sultanate, such as roads, street roads, public parks, waste management slaughterhouses and sewage networks. The Majlis members raised several queries before Al Shuhi. One member enquired about oversight over Haya Water. Another member raised a question about the lack of electricity and water services in new residential quarters.
Some others asked about the cause of delay in starting construction work after obtaining building permits, the issue of shelters and trees in front of houses, car washing in public places instead of industrial areas, and also about the Ministry’s cooperation with citizens in the maintenance of existing aflaj and construction of new ones.
In his reply, Al Shuhi said that with regard to food monitoring, the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources (MRMWR) has taken over the matter from the Ministry of Health (MoH) and 20 employees have been transferred from the MoH to the MRMWR, prompting the Ministry to sign contracts with 68 employees.
The minister said the Food Safety Centre will be the only official entity responsible for food monitoring and it brings under its umbrella a number of bodies, all of which are working as one team.
As for Haya Water and the discharge of liquid waste in wadis, the minister said this issue falls within the task of Haya Water. However, the ministry is following up with the company and takes action against the owners of waste water tankers who discharge waste water in non-designated places; a large number of them have been banned. He said the problem lies in the big pressure on the designated places and the ministry is trying to find a temporary solution to the problem by drilling provisional concrete tanks for discharging waste water.
Al Shuhi said the ministry has lots of general applications for paving and lighting roads, and added that the implementation of these projects require millions of rials which cannot be allocated in the current financial situation.
Members of the Majlis requested granting more powers to municipal councils, evaluating their experience after eight years of their work and identifying pros and cons of such system and how far such councils are supporting the wilayats.
During the session, the Majlis members talked about Al Batinah Expressway, which is one of the vital roads in the Sultanate.
Chairman Al Maawali said the session on Tuesday will discuss several studies conducted by the permanent committee at the Council, as well as reviewing a range of topics referred by the government.
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