A Southern Municipality council meeting descended into chaos yesterday as councillors launched an attack on municipal officials over a perceived lack of upkeep of public parks.
The heated exchanges came amid mounting frustration over delayed repairs, poor maintenance and stalled renovation work in parks in Zallaq, Sakhir, Safra and Isa Town, with councillors demanding the immediate replacement of what they described as ‘lazy’ officials.
Zallaq, Sakhir and Safra councillor Hamad Al Zoubi said repeated reports had wrongly claimed that saplings and other plants in public parks had been destroyed, preventing any allocation of funds for their future upkeep.
“I came to know after three years that this was the case due to misleading feedback from municipal officials,” Mr Al Zoubi said. “I took those concerned from the National Initiative for Agricultural Development, led by Secretary-General Shaikha Maram bint Isa Al Khalifa, to inspect the sites and we found that the trees had died due to sheer negligence.”
He accused officials of prioritising publicity over performance. “It is more about social media and public show-off rather than actual work,” he claimed. “Lazy officials sitting on desks need to go immediately and be replaced with people who are willing to work with sincerity.”
Mr Al Zoubi also cited a long-standing safety issue along the Zallaq Highway, where an overgrown tree went untrimmed for two years. “The same officials kept saying they had no cutter or they had no authority to hire an outside company to carry out the work,” he alleged.
He claimed the situation changed instantly after he raised the issue directly with Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Minister Wael Al Mubarak.
“I visited the minister and informed him, and when I returned home, the same people were suddenly supervising trimming work,” he said.
His remarks were strongly supported by West Isa Town councillor Mubarak Faraj, who recalled a recent incident in which a public park was left in complete darkness for months.
“The Marageeb Public Park in Isa Town had become a ghost town,” Mr Faraj said. “I have been asking since 2023 for the lighting problems to be fixed.”
He claimed municipal officials repeatedly blamed faulty cables without conducting appropriate on-site inspections. “They were sitting at their desks and making excuses without even moving,” he suggested at the meeting.
Frustrated by the inaction, Mr Faraj said he personally hired a technician for BD20 to inspect the site. “There was nothing major and the lights came back on – just days before the park was closed for major renovation. So tell me, why shouldn’t I be in a rage?” he asked.
Both councillors criticised officials for apparently appearing only when media opportunities arose. “For pictures, the same officials jump to the front as if they were heroes,” Mr Faraj alleged.
The council called for urgent accountability measures and a review of municipal performance, warning that continued neglect of public spaces undermines public trust and damages the quality of life of residents.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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