AN urgent proposal to sack the rain drainage maintenance teams for alleged incompetence has been rejected.
Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf said the teams were made up of professionals who were more than capable of handling their responsibilities.
The Muharraq Municipal Council had demanded the replacement of the teams, saying that rainwater problems persisted year after year.
Mr Khalaf acknowledged that there were some challenges during the rainy season but these could be instantaneously addressed by contacting the government’s complaints’ hotline or app Tawasul.
“The responsibility of carrying out necessary or annual maintenance and operations relating to rainwater or sewage is under the ministry’s sanitary and drainage sector,” he said.
“The teams are more than capable of handling their responsibilities; the proof is in the way they cleared some areas of rainwater in a short time and even on the same day despite complications on site.
“Some areas cannot be drained completely due to the geological makeup of the land.
“If we find that a private sector company is needed on site, we have given the green light to hire it on temporary contracts.”
Mr Khalaf said sacking or retaining the teams was none of the council’s business.
“Only professionals or experts can determine if someone is competent or not, after proper evaluation and assessment.”
MPs and councillors have been seeking long-term solutions to prevent a repeat of the catastrophic water-logging caused by heavy rain in January this year.
The Interior Ministry had revealed at the time that its operations room had dealt with 610 calls for problems faced during heavy rain from December 31 to January 2.
Traffic police dealt with 234 accidents out of which 197 were minor, while the Civil Defence dealt with 84 fallen trees and lampposts besides attending to cases of electricity short circuits, and the National Ambulance responded to 490 health emergency calls.
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, had also ordered that all damages from the rain be listed and compensation be paid to all of those affected.
Muharraq Municipal Council chairman Ghazi Al Murbati said a professional is trained in all scenarios and can deal with the worst.
“Failure is failure if someone claims to be a specialist and can’t do his job,” he said.
“For example, a heart surgeon who can’t perform with instinct or improvise during an unexpected circumstance while doing a cardiac surgery is not as good as he claims; it is tough situations that determine competency.
“Replacing teams with some others is natural when the same rainwater problems exist every year.”
However, Northern Municipal Council chairman Ahmed Al Kooheji said replacements could be an option when there are others working with the same skills, knowledge and experience on the street.
“Even if someone is graded 8/10 then they are better than someone who is 10/10 and can’t be found during the rainy season, which is an extreme emergency,” he said.
“We councillors can’t determine technical issues, we monitor and assess performance and work, and suggest actions accordingly.”
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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