Galal Fakkar -- Arab News
JEDDAH: The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) has set up a special club for volunteers, particularly businesswomen, to support activities promoting the city council and civic services in Jeddah.
“This club will contribute to the development of Jeddah by providing the municipal council with ideas and proposals to find solutions to the city’s problems with concerned sectors,” said JCCI Secretary-General Mustafa Sabri.
Sabri recalled the directives of Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal to initiate development programs in Makkah, Jeddah and Taif — key cities of the province — over the next five years.
Ulfat Qabbani, chairman of the Jeddah Council for Social Responsibility at the JCCI, said the club would encourage businessmen and businesswomen to voluntarily serve the community. “This club will give a real boost to Jeddah’s municipal council and will further enhance voluntary activities,” she added.
Tariq Fadaaq, director of the council, said the club would establish direct and more effective means of communication between members of the public and officials, and would help find solutions to a number of problems facing the city.
“The municipal council has so far received 140 complaints on various civic issues of which 80 percent have been resoved,” Fadaaq added.
The director confirmed that the council would deal with each complaint in 48 hours and said it had made remarkable achievements in the city’s development.
He added that the council had signed an agreement with King Abdulaziz University to initiate projects to solve certain issues facing the city.
Fadaaq said under the agreement, 50 students distributed questionnaires asking the public what they felt was required from the municipal council and how to promote the role of the youth in society.
Muhammad Abu Dawoud, a council member, said the new club would convey the opinions of businesswomen to the council to enrich civic work in the city.
Showing posts with label municipal council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label municipal council. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Saudi Arabia: Women May Vote in Next Municipal Council Polls
The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs is seeking the help of renowned international firms and the United Nations to evaluate the first-ever local elections of municipal councils held in 2005, according to Prince Mansour Bin Miteb Bin Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Municipal Affairs.
Whether women would be able to vote in the upcoming municipal elections, he said, would be in the hands of the election committee. Initially the election rules left women’s participation ambiguous.
The use of the masculine form in Arabic for all citizens reinforced reports saying women would be denied the vote. But the 2005 elections confirmed it. Women could run and vote in 2009, Municipal Affairs Minister Prince Miteb Bin Abdul Aziz was reportedly quoted as saying during the election in 2005. He said they were excluded not by the system, but by “time constraints.”
But the total voting experience has proved some progress. More than 60 percent of the decisions taken by the Municipal Councils across the nation has been carried out, giving a positive key indicator of the performance of the elected councils, he said.
Assistant minister hopes that future results will be much better with upcoming elections. Conflicts between the Municipal Councils and city mayors, or even among the council members themselves are normal in any work environment, especially for a new election experience in the Kingdom, he said.
-- Okaz, Salman Al-Sulami
Whether women would be able to vote in the upcoming municipal elections, he said, would be in the hands of the election committee. Initially the election rules left women’s participation ambiguous.
The use of the masculine form in Arabic for all citizens reinforced reports saying women would be denied the vote. But the 2005 elections confirmed it. Women could run and vote in 2009, Municipal Affairs Minister Prince Miteb Bin Abdul Aziz was reportedly quoted as saying during the election in 2005. He said they were excluded not by the system, but by “time constraints.”
But the total voting experience has proved some progress. More than 60 percent of the decisions taken by the Municipal Councils across the nation has been carried out, giving a positive key indicator of the performance of the elected councils, he said.
Assistant minister hopes that future results will be much better with upcoming elections. Conflicts between the Municipal Councils and city mayors, or even among the council members themselves are normal in any work environment, especially for a new election experience in the Kingdom, he said.
-- Okaz, Salman Al-Sulami
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Qatar: Municipal member threatens to quit
DOHA • The lone woman member of the Central Municipal Council (CMC), Sheikha Al Jefairi, has threatened to quit in protest against what she says are improper procedures being followed from the start of the current term of the Council.
Speaking on the phone from Cairo, Al Jefairi told The Peninsula yesterday: "Yes, I have told the Council I would resign if these wrong procedures are not done away with."
During the regular meeting of the CMC on Tuesday, Al Jaffiri criticised the decision to withhold the recommendations of the Council's services committee. The recommendations should be made available to all CMC members before the meeting. It may be noted that only some of the 29 members of the CMC are on the services panel.
Although Al Jefairi is not a member of the services committee and instead heads the Council's legal committee, she told the House not revealing the panel's recommendations on key public issues before the regular meeting of the CMC is a violation of the code of ethics and procedures of the democratically-elected council.
Al Jefairi, who represents the Old Airport area of Doha in the CMC and had won for the second time the last election with a thumping majority, said the practice prevented CMC members from studying the issues listed in the recommendations and taking notes since they directly impact citizens.
Access to the recommendations before they are discussed in the House would help members seek the views of citizens and experts on these issues, she said.
She also criticized the CMC Chairman's decision to end the meeting of the Council without ratifying the recommendations made at the end of deliberations.
The decision is in breach of Article 51 of the law governing the duties of the council which stipulates that CMC recommendations and resolutions should be decided by majority of votes, she said.
"As head of the legal affairs committee at the Council, I reject such unethical procedures being followed at the meetings," Al Jaffiri pointed out.
Ibrahim Al Ibrahim Al Jefairi, another CMC member, supported her stand and said that he had already resigned from the services committee over the issue she has raised. He said all CMC members should get documents in advance to study the issues.
Meanwhile, the CMC meeting reviewed the recommendations on soaring prices in Qatar and were forwarded to the Ministry of Economy for necessary action. The recommendations include diversification of imported products to Qatar, particularly foodstuffs and building materials besides granting new licences for the import of vegetables and fruits for new companies and offering them space in the central market to facilitate merchandise.
- The Peninsula/ By Mohamed Saeed
Speaking on the phone from Cairo, Al Jefairi told The Peninsula yesterday: "Yes, I have told the Council I would resign if these wrong procedures are not done away with."
During the regular meeting of the CMC on Tuesday, Al Jaffiri criticised the decision to withhold the recommendations of the Council's services committee. The recommendations should be made available to all CMC members before the meeting. It may be noted that only some of the 29 members of the CMC are on the services panel.
Although Al Jefairi is not a member of the services committee and instead heads the Council's legal committee, she told the House not revealing the panel's recommendations on key public issues before the regular meeting of the CMC is a violation of the code of ethics and procedures of the democratically-elected council.
Al Jefairi, who represents the Old Airport area of Doha in the CMC and had won for the second time the last election with a thumping majority, said the practice prevented CMC members from studying the issues listed in the recommendations and taking notes since they directly impact citizens.
Access to the recommendations before they are discussed in the House would help members seek the views of citizens and experts on these issues, she said.
She also criticized the CMC Chairman's decision to end the meeting of the Council without ratifying the recommendations made at the end of deliberations.
The decision is in breach of Article 51 of the law governing the duties of the council which stipulates that CMC recommendations and resolutions should be decided by majority of votes, she said.
"As head of the legal affairs committee at the Council, I reject such unethical procedures being followed at the meetings," Al Jaffiri pointed out.
Ibrahim Al Ibrahim Al Jefairi, another CMC member, supported her stand and said that he had already resigned from the services committee over the issue she has raised. He said all CMC members should get documents in advance to study the issues.
Meanwhile, the CMC meeting reviewed the recommendations on soaring prices in Qatar and were forwarded to the Ministry of Economy for necessary action. The recommendations include diversification of imported products to Qatar, particularly foodstuffs and building materials besides granting new licences for the import of vegetables and fruits for new companies and offering them space in the central market to facilitate merchandise.
- The Peninsula/ By Mohamed Saeed
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