PARENTS of young tearaways who vandalise public parks, walkways and gardens would prefer their children be thrown in jail rather than be forced to pay for any damage they caused, according to a leading politician.
Parliament public utilities and environment affairs committee chairman Mohammed Buhamood, a former municipal council chairman, said governmental financial strains, meant many damaged municipal facilities were being left unrepaired.
“When we asked the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry to make parents accountable for the actions of their children, parents refused to pay, saying ‘let them rot in jail’,” he claimed.
Mr Buhamood added that carrying out repairs and maintenance was sometimes more expensive than rebuilding new facilities from scratch.
Many parks and gardens have been closed down as a Covid-19 health precaution since last year but those unfenced remain open.
Park entrance
People were also banned from walkways at the start of the pandemic but have since being allowed back to exercise.
Mr Buhamood explained that only selected parks have been equipped with surveillance cameras, while the rest remain under the responsibility of guards.
He added that smaller parks were left with no protection making them even particularly vulnerable.
“The government has limited spending and now they will face an uphill battle to maintain parks, gardens and walkways for years to come with less financing and irresponsible vandalism,” said Mr Buhamood.
“Maintenance and repairs are very expensive, sometimes even more than the cost of building new facilities!
“There has to be a rule that forces parents to pay up for the damage caused by their children.”
Mr Buhamood said cases under study by the committee have showcased testimonies from parents highlighting the fact that they do not consider themselves to blame.
Vandalised playground equipment
“In one case, a parent said he allowed his son to play football in the neighbourhood and another child dared him to vandalise the nearby park, and so he did,” explained Mr Buhamood.
“Another parent claimed his son was tricked to show that vandalism was manly, so he cut down trees and burned the grass in the park.
“In my opinion, all these cases show carelessness by the parents, and having their juveniles ‘rot in jail’ as suggested is not the solution.
“If the parents can’t cover the cost of repairing the damage their children are responsible for they should carry out community service for failing to do their job – and that’s monitoring their children.
“We believe that surveillance cameras would act as a deterrent and are working to have them installed but, on the available budget, I can’t see it happening in the short-term.
“What’s worrying is that even with parks closed and with surveillance cameras and security guards – the wrong mentality continues to prevail.”
All public parks, gardens and walkways come under the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry, but Mr Buhamood believes that the Health, and Youth and Sports Affairs Ministries should also become involved.
Another proposal to privatise facilities and offer them to investors, approved in August, is currently being reviewed by a parliamentary committee.
Southern Municipal Council chairman Bader Al Tamimi believes that municipal facilities are draining vital government funds without attracting any revenue.
Mr Al Tamimi also suggested that more than 100 facilities be handed over to Edamah, the government’s real-estate arm, to manage on behalf of the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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