Riyadh Municipal Council Members In First-Ever Public Debate
RIYADH: There were more questions than answers at the first-ever public meeting of the 10-member Riyadh Municipal Council on Monday.
Saudi citizens were quick to grasp the meaning of representative government, asking the new council members difficult questions and demanding the government take action to clean up the city's environment and improve public health and safety.The meeting, which was sometimes marked with rancorous debate over exactly what the council's responsibilities were, left some audience members feeling less than satisfied with the performance of the new council.
"Inadequate response, confusion and dissatisfaction can aptly describe this first-ever open debate," said voter and audience member Saud Al-Qahtani.
Prince Abdul Aziz Al-Ayyaf presided over the meeting while the 10 members of the council - five elected and five appointed - met in the crowded auditorium of Prince Sultan University. Council members took questions and comments from the public and outlined what they wanted to achieve over the next four years - the term of the council.
According to Prince Al-Ayyaf, the goal of the councils - elected last year in the Kingdom's first-ever municipal elections - is "to serve the people in the best possible manner."
He said the Riyadh Municipal Council has created five committees to deal with its responsibilities.
While council members asked for suggestions and comments from the public, few were prepared for the onslaught of questions and comments that dealt with everything from improvements to the city's drainage system to health standards for cafes to illegal activities by street merchants during the summer festival.
Some from the audience were very critical of the vagueness of the council's program, and called upon members to create real, concrete plans to deal with problems.
"In the absence of a clear guideline how can you fix the faulty drainage system in the city?" asked one audience member. "Will you work for a clean environment by relocating heavily polluting factories, such as a cement factory, to the south of Riyadh?"
One woman demanded the council establish shops run by women and exclusively for women, ending the debate over male workers in lingerie shops. Another audience member called on the council to toughen health and safety standards at local cafes, while another person condemned a recent exhibition of roses in the Saudi capital, saying "there were many violations of the law during the 10-day event."
Another participant hoped the council would continue to meet at the university and that members would make themselves available to the Saudi public.
Anger among participants only mounted when one council member suggested that many of the complaints raised by the audience are the responsibility of the mayor's office, and not the Municipal Council.
"Ours is consultative, supervisory and monitoring body, and that only entails the basic responsibility to convey the people's voice in the form of complaints, ideas and their suggestions to the right authorities," another member of the council said.
According to another member, there are some municipal services over which the council has no say. "You have to understand that we cannot do anything about the drainage system," the council member said. "Besides, the municipal rules offer no clear guidelines on what we can and cannot do."
Omar Basudan, Chairman of Committee for Development of Municipal Works, said much of the blame can be put on the Municipal Charter, which is 30 years old and needs to be updated.
"Once this is done, the Municipal Councils in every city can have a clearer idea on their job responsibilities and specified tasks, which do not duplicate with other public departments," Basudan said. For instance, Basudan explained that Municipal Councils are not responsible for city drainage systems, pollution control, transport, traffic or health services.
On Dec. 15, Saudi Arabia announced the formation of 178 municipal councils across the country as part of political reforms introduced by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah that hope to increase the participation of the public in government decision-making.
The announcement came eight months after a three-stage series municipal elections to pick half the members of the 178 councils. A total of 592 people were elected to the councils beginning in Riyadh on Feb. 10, 2005. Another 592 council members were appointed by the government.
The five Riyadh Municipal Council committees include 1. Committee for Development of Council's work, chaired by Saud Al-Nemre, 2. Committee for Financial Affairs, headed by Tariq Al-Qashi, 3. Committee for Urgent Works, headed by Mishari al-Mua'amar, 4. Committee for Development of Municipal Work, headed by Omar Basudan and 5. Public Relations Committee chaired by Ibrahim H.Al-Qauayid.
By Mohamed Al-Ghamdi and Shahid Ali Khan
© The Saudi Gazette 2006
