Questions Raised Over Works Project Priorities

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Councillors have demanded answers over how road and infrastructure schemes are picked, funded and moved up the queue, amid questions over why some projects go ahead while others are left waiting.

Northern Municipal Council vice-chair Zaina Jassim called on the Works Ministry to outline the rules it uses to rank schemes across the governorate’s 12 constituencies.

She wants to know how much weight is given to need, population, the scale of damage and the number of residents who stand to benefit.

‘It is important to strengthen transparency and make clear the procedures followed in choosing and approving projects and allocating the money needed for them,’ Jassim said.

The council agreed to write to Works Minister Ebrahim Al Hawaj seeking a full account of how schemes are put forward, ranked, approved and given money.

Jassim said councillors were tasked with tracking residents’ needs and putting forward road, service and development schemes, yet needed a clearer picture of what happened to those requests once they reached the ministry.

‘The municipal council plays a key role in identifying citizens’ needs and putting forward development and service projects that meet the needs of the different constituencies,’ she said.

Her questions cover who decides the order of works and how the ministry, the ministerial committee and municipal councils deal with proposed schemes.

She has also asked for the sums earmarked for Works Ministry projects over the past two financial years and how much was actually spent.

Councillors want to know how cash is split between the 12 constituencies. They have asked whether each area receives a fixed sum or money follows need and the rank given to each scheme.

The inquiry also covers delayed projects, including what happens when funds run short, how schemes pushed into later years are reassessed and how older council requests are treated when new budgets are drawn up.

Jassim questioned why councils were not routinely given written details of approved schemes, their place in the queue, progress on the ground and the reasons other projects had been rejected or put off.

She also sought the rules used to choose between similar schemes from different constituencies and how urgent works arising after budgets have been agreed are dealt with.

Temporary road paving is also under scrutiny. The council wants the ministry to explain how roads are chosen for such work, why some sites face delays and how spending, need and technical factors affect the order of works.