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The Central Municipal Council (CMC) has gained a lot of recognition - popular as well as official - in recent years, its vice-chairman Jassim al-Malki has stressed.
He said the council has been raising the popular demands of the country’s inhabitants before the entities concerned for many years now. Several of these demands have already been met. “We see a good number of areas that have been provided with gardens and family parks, along with good roads and adequate lighting,” he pointed out, citing an example.
Al-Malki said the local inhabitants consider CMC members in their respective constituencies to be very close to them - as their democratically elected representatives - and often raise their concerns and demands with them.
“We at the council study such demands, listen to relevant suggestions and discuss them. Accordingly, recommendations are made and approved by the council and then these are submitted to HE the Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning for review,” he explained.
The senior official noted that there has been positive response from various entities in the country to the CMC’s recommendations and the issues raised by its members.
“Officials, whether from government or private entities, come to the council’s regular sessions, answer the questions of members and discuss with them all related issues of public interest,” he said.
Further, he pointed out that the CMC’s experience has also generated interest among expatriate communities and diplomatic missions in the country. “We receive requests from different embassies in the country to attend our sessions to get more knowledge about our democratic practices,” he added.
Al-Malki affirmed that though the council is mainly elected by locals to promote their interests in developing the country, expatriates, too, approach him and other members to voice their concerns and suggestions.
“Some of these are very positive ideas and have been discussed, resulting in constructive recommendations. We welcome the ideas of anybody living in this country to help improve services and other municipal affairs,” he added.
The council has also conducted a number of trips to other municipalities around the world, including in Europe, the US and GCC countries. Al-Malki notes that such visits have a positive impact in terms of enhancing the performance of the council.
“We saw how things are done in other countries, in public services and infrastructure projects, which give us a broader understanding of how to improve our country. However, the capabilities and freedom enjoyed by the council here are far greater than that in many other countries, probably because we are a central council while in other countries they have city councils headed by a mayor,” he explained.
