A total 91 decisions were issued by the Northern Municipal Council in 22 meetings during the third session of the sixth municipal term (2024-2025), according to a report.
The document provides an overview of the council meetings, committee meetings and topics covered, key projects and issues that were addressed, challenges that were noted during the period and recommendations.
A total of 52 requests were made for rainwater insulation, 35 of which have been completed, while 30 streetlights were installed in the 12 constituencies of the governorate.
Council chairman Dr Sayed Shubbar Al Wedaei stated that the value of municipal work was built on tools and solid foundations derived from sound vision and national direction.
“These foundations are rooted in values of decision-making, transparency and strength which reflect the principles of His Majesty King Hamad,” said Dr Al Wedaei, in the report.
“Through dedication and institutional collaboration by council members and stakeholders, we have achieved significant progress toward our set goals, including a qualitative leap in performance.
“This was accomplished by aligning with core strategic values and building upon the solid foundation developed over three consecutive sessions.
“We continue to support and activate municipal work in partnership with public institutions.”
The council held 22 meetings, including 21 regular sessions and one ‘extraordinary’ session.
Around 91 decisions were issued during these meetings, 81 of which were described as ‘recommendations’ and the remaining 10 as ‘formal decisions’, all of which were referred to the Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Ministry.
Following a government review, 25 of those decisions were approved, 22 were rejected, 41 are currently pending, and three items are under study.
Out of these decisions, four were related to ‘planning’ – including detailed maps, zoning requests and land reallocation decisions such as reassignment of plots or real estate for public or private use.
Twenty decisions were described as ‘organisational’ and involved restructuring or adjusting names of departments or municipal responsibilities and changes to administrative designations or departmental roles.
Nine of these decisions were ‘financial and legal’ and were related to laws, contracts, budgets, fiscal governance and legal review of proposed municipal laws or budget allocation requests.
The remaining 58 decisions were categorised as ‘public participation’ and included general public suggestions, citizen petitions and community initiatives, covering topics such as pavements and road maintenance, street lighting, public safety and sanitation and community development projects.
A total of 85 recommendations were made and submitted by council members during the third session.
The proposals covered a broad range of topics including urban planning and zoning, municipal services, legal and financial matters and community-driven initiatives.
Most were spearheaded by third constituency representative Mohamed Al Doseri, ninth constituency representative Abdulla Belal and seventh constituency deputy chairman representative Zaina Jasim with 13 each.
Sixth constituency representative Abdulla Ashoor had nine, 10th constituency representative Abdulla Shareeda Al Thawadi made seven recommendations and second constituency representative Basem Abuidrees and 12th district representative Zainab Al Derazi made six each.
Dr Al Wedaei, fifth constituency representative Tareq Al Farsani and eighth constituency representative Jasim Hejris made five recommendations each.
Finally, 11th constituency representative Abdulla Ebrahim Al Thawadi made two recommendations and fourth representative Dr Salman Mohsen Abdraboh made one.
Additionally, there were four proposals submitted by the Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Ministry, one by the council secretariat, and one by the public services and utilities committee.
The Technical Committee, chaired by Mr Hejris, discussed 248 topics over the course of 24 meetings. This included six zoning and planning proposals, 114 classification and naming of locations, 17 project-specific cases, 33 road cases and 46 general enquiries and complaints.
The Financial and Legal Committee, chaired by Dr Abdraboh, recommended 28 issues for discussion in 18 meetings. This included one legislative matter, 17 financial affairs, four related to expropriation and six were licensing and regulations.
Led by Abdulla Shareeda Al Thawadi, the Public Services and Utilities Committee discussed 76 issues in 21 meetings. This included 30 municipal service projects, 44 general community service projects and two relating to internal council procedures and regulations.
Finally, the Public Relations and Media Committee, chaired by Abdulla Ebrahim Al Thawadi, held 19 meetings, where three recommendations were issued relating to community engagement, partnerships and communication.
The report highlighted the success of the ‘Hayakom’ community outreach programme, which addresses citizens’ issues through direct engagement and dialogue.
Thirty requests for streetlights across the 12 constituencies were approved by the council. Additionally, 52 requests were made regarding rainwater insulation, 35 of which have been completed, 14 are underway, and three have been cancelled.
Additionally, 41 municipal projects were approved across the 12 constituencies, along with 110 public service projects, 369 zoning issues and 83 map and layout studies. Around 521 municipal forms and 88 general service forms have been processed.
In total, around 1,102 requests were made, 248 of which have been completed, while 668 are either pending or underway, and 186 have been rejected.
The council report documented several significant challenges and obstacles that hindered the effectiveness of municipal operations and delayed public service delivery.
This included a lack of co-ordination with ministries, with some not providing clear project timelines, some projects lacking detailed progress reports and council operating without real-time updates.
Delayed or incomplete responses were also an issue, with the report stating that ministries were slow in responding, and projects required multiple follow-ups or reminders to get replies. Redundancy in communication reportedly caused communication fatigue.
Some ministries allegedly provided generic or partial responses to council recommendations without full assessment or commitment.
The report stated that some issues could have been resolved faster if there were official direct lines between council members and ministry decision-makers.
Many infrastructure projects stalled due to slow approvals, budget clearance delays and weak contractor enforcement.
Weak enforcement of regulations when it came to ongoing violations such as illegal dumping of construction debris and poor street cleanliness was also a hot topic. Weak regulation also led to visible issues such as accumulation of scrap vehicles and abandoned waste in public spaces.
In order to deal with these challenges, recommendations made for the next session included strategic planning, engagement with community and institutions and accelerating project executions.
It was also recommended to develop a mobile app or digital platform where citizens can submit complaints, track request status and interact with council representatives.
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