A technical fault in Bahrain’s municipal system has disrupted key public services, prompting concern among members of the Southern Municipal Council during their meeting yesterday.
The issue, which affects the system used for distributing garbage bags to residents, was raised by several councillors who warned of delays and inconvenience for citizens relying on the service.
Responding to the concerns, Southern Municipality director-general Isa Al Buainain confirmed the disruption, attributing it to a system malfunction currently being addressed in co-ordination with the Information and eGovernment Authority.
“There is a fault in the municipal system, and we are actively working to resolve it,” he said. “One of the affected services is the programme for collecting garbage bags.”
Mr Al Buainain sought to reassure residents that contingency measures had already been put in place to avoid disruption. “Citizens who come to collect their allocations before the weekend will be accommodated through manual registration,” he explained.
“Their entitlement to garbage bags is preserved, and we will ensure they receive their share retroactively.”
He stressed that municipal teams are continuing operations despite the technical setback.
“We are prepared to work manually if needed – it will not affect service delivery,” he said.
The director-general expressed optimism that the issue would be resolved swiftly. “We hope to fix the problem before the weekend,” he added, noting that efforts were ongoing in collaboration with the relevant technical authorities.
Meanwhile, Southern Municipal Council chairman Abdulla Abdullatif called for a structured recovery plan once the system is restored, warning against placing undue pressure on municipal employees.
“We must ensure that once services return to normal, staff are not overwhelmed by accumulated demand,” he said. “There should be a clear mechanism to handle the backlog smoothly, whether through phased scheduling or additional temporary support.”
He emphasised that frontline workers had already been operating under strain. “Employees have continued serving residents despite the disruption, and they should not bear the burden of system failures,” he added, urging authorities to prioritise both efficiency and staff welfare in the recovery phase.
Councillors had earlier highlighted the importance of ensuring uninterrupted services, particularly those directly impacting households, and called for faster response mechanisms to technical failures.
The incident has once again drawn attention to the need for robust digital infrastructure and backup systems to maintain essential municipal services without interruption.
Despite the temporary glitch, officials insist that residents will not lose access to their entitled services, with manual processes bridging the gap until the system is fully restored.
Seventy per cent of government employees are currently working online due to the ongoing Iranian aggression.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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