Furore over minister's absence at Chamber of Deputies
Housing and infrastructure stole the show at the weekly session of the Chamber of Deputies yesterday.
The absence of the Minster for Housing Shaikh Ebrahim bin Khalifa Al Khalifa and the presence of the lower officials, irked the members, with some of them giving loud utterances. Shaikh Hassan Sultan was among them. Mohammed Yousef Maezal, an Al Wefaq MP was more vocal on this issue.
The absence of the minister and the letter from the government led Khaleel Murzooq to say that the MPs wanted to thank the government, but the government was not even encouraging a healthy relationship. He spelt out areas for improvement.
Abdulhussain Ahmed Kadhem Al Metghawi, Al Wefaq MP spoke of the lands owned by villagers in Bani Jamrah. He said that they cannot be built upon because there are no zoning plans for this village. Some of them have been holding their lands for over six years and for these the lands are dead assets, he added.
There are others who have taken loans to build their houses but they cannot carry out the construction since there are no plans for the village. If the plans are not made and these villagers are not allowed to build then their loans, which are already sanctioned, will lapse and they will not get another opportunity - they will be forced to start afresh," he said.
Dr Mohammed Hassan Abdali, another MP, wanted to know why the Nuwaidrat Housing Project was renamed Hoorat Al Sanad. Another MP alleged that it was a ploy to turn the representatives and the people against each other.
MPs voiced their concern at the government reasoning that the work on the Northern City project was stalled for shortage of budget. They wanted to know why it was stalled after the reclamation was over.
Al Asala MP Khamis Ahmed Al Roumaihi said that work on the main road connecting Jow to Al Dour was begun on January 27 and was expected to be over by July 26, however, even as of yesterday it was not over. The project, he said, had stopped and wanted to know the reason for stopping building of the road. He said that this was not the only project suffering this fate. Many others had also gone the same way.
Many others had also gone the same way.
"I think there is no proper budgeting. He said, "We are afraid that this is happening in other important projects and that this will result in project funds getting lapsed resulting in huge losses."
Hassan Salem Hassan Al Dossary said that he expected the government to ensure that the apartments constructed by the Ministry of Housing would be not less than 200 square metres. He wanted that the area specified be put into the building and not remain on paper alone.
He said, "Our business is to ensure that Ministry of Housing plans are brought into the actual locations. Often they only remain on paper.
Lateefa Al Gaoud said that the government was now talking of new forms of loans for Bahrain, including mortgages. They are now planning property mortgages. "I said that any new system must be built on strength. The government must learn from the US mistake. The government must build legislations and also permit more transparency, controls and accountability.
In the 2009-10 budget, we will look at getting the necessary outlay to carry out all the projects that have been delayed for want of funds in this budget, she said. All plans that have been approved will go on stream, she said.
© Bahrain Tribune 2008
