Food handlers at eateries in Doha ‘ignoring hygiene’
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A number of eateries in Doha and suburbs are violating hygiene regulations when it comes to handling food, several regular customers have told Gulf Times. |
The food hygiene department of the erstwhile Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Agriculture had issued a number of guidelines to the restaurateurs to ensure proper hygiene and cleanliness in eateries in 2005.
The guidelines had their effect for some time as most restaurants followed them strictly.
Food handlers began to wear caps to ensure hair did not fall while serving customers apart from using hand gloves without fail. Now, things are back to square one in many eateries, inquiries found.
Even though the municipal guidelines insist that there should be be a segregation between cleaners and food handlers in restaurants, one could come across workers performing dual duties simultaneously in many places.
The other day some regulars at a city restaurant walked out in protest when they saw a food handler performing the duties of a cleaner besides his regular duties.
“Not over, he was seen a little earlier serving food with bare hands to customers and picking up snacks from a shelf,” said one of those who walked out of the restaurant. He said similar sights are common these days in many city cafeterias and restaurants.
In a crackdown in the Industrial Area about a fortnight ago the municipal authorities issued ‘close down’ notices to many restaurants and fines were slapped on many of them. This initiative was widely welcomed and had a positive effect on the other eateries in the densely populated area, and most of them are reportedly adhering to the municipal guidelines strictly.
“It is high time the municipal authorities launched a similar crackdown on the erring restaurants in some of the thickly populated localities of the city,” said a regular at city eateries. “Outlets serving Arabic dishes are much cleaner than most Asian eateries,” he said.
Though all eateries cannot be blamed for poor hygiene and cleanliness, many residents feel inspections of food outlets should be carried out frequently.
HBKU hosts LeaderShape programme
Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science, and Community Development (QF), is hosting the ongoing eighth edition of Qatar LeaderShape at the Al Sultan Beach Resort in Al Khor.
LeaderShape, established in the US in 1988, focuses on teaching its participants how to “lead with integrity.” Hosted in Doha since 2007, LeaderShape offers Qatar’s brightest future leaders the opportunity to develop the necessary tools and skills needed to successfully serve as global leaders.
During the six-day programme which will conclude on Thursday, participants will learn to overcome challenges and build on their existing leadership skills in an environment set outside of the traditional classroom model. Each day will focus on a specific theme including, “Building Community,” “The Value of One, Power of All,” and “Bringing Vision to Reality.”
A total of 60 local and international students from HBKU’s partner universities - Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Texas A&M University at Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Georgetown School of Foreign Service in Qatar, and Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), are attending.
Dr Khalid al-Khanji, vice president of student affairs at HBKU, said: “The LeaderShape programme offers unique opportunities for students to develop as global leaders. The skills that they develop through this programme will be valuable for the rest of their lives.”
HBKU’s LeaderShape programme is supported by its official sponsor, Maersk Oil Qatar which first joined as partner for the previous programme held in January 2013. HBKU recently signed an additional two-year partnership agreement with the leading international oil and gas company.
They organised the Maersk Oil - HBKU Leadership Challenge in November 2013, which saw eight teams of students from HBKU’s partner universities and Qatar University compete in a two-day competition in the desert at Zekreet.
Sheikh Jassim al-Thani, head of Qatarisation at Maersk Oil Qatar, described the partnership with HBKU as a key element of the company’s social investment programme that is focused on supporting the development of skills and capacity in young people in Qatar, and building the next generation of leaders.
Embassy and Qatar authorities to help Nigerian jobless
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The Nigerian embassy in co-operation with the relevant local authorities is embarking on an initiative to assist unemployed Nigerians in Qatar find jobs, sources yesterday said. |
According to reliable sources there are presently hundreds of jobless Nigerians in the country.
The information about the plan was contained in a memo issued yesterday by the embassy to members of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation – Qatar chapter (NIDO-Qatar).
In the memo, the embassy blamed the visa trading racket for the increasing number of Nigerians flocking to Qatar. The mission also observed that such a situation subsequently has led to the spike in the number of unemployed Nigerians, some of whom were allegedly involved in some criminal activities in recent days.
“The lack of employment is directly due to the work visa racket, which has resulted in an increase in crime rate being perpetuated by Nigerians here in Qatar,” the memo reads.
In order to resolve these issues, the embassy has met with the Qatari authorities, who have equally expressed serious concern about the situation in the Nigerian community and are now considering assisting in job placements where available.
The Qatari authorities have also agreed to help those currently embroiled in sponsorship transfers as well as in providing repatriation support for those willing to go back to Nigeria, especially those without the required skills to work here.
However, the embassy emphasised that the assistance (arrangement) is only available for those Nigerians currently unemployed and are in Qatar as of December 31, 2013.
Following the embassy’s decision, NIDO-Qatar has advised the concerned people the following:
• That unemployed Nigerians in Qatar should visit the embassy during working hours (9am-12noon) to register and submit copies of their bio-data page , passports, residence permits and other relevant documents.
• That people who have issues with sponsorship transfer should also register.
• That people who are unemployed and are willing to go back to Nigeria should register to receive repatriation support (if possible) from the Qatari government.
• That the plan is applicable to Nigerians in Qatar as of December 31, 2013.
• That the compiled list will be forwarded to the relevant Qatari authorities for consideration.
• That the Qatari government has resolved to be very tough on crime.
The NIDO-Qatar executives also appealed to the affected people to avail themselves of the opportunity.
“The Nigerian community here in Qatar has been highly regarded and respected until recently and the organisation is always ready to help anyone in need within its limited capability,” a spokesman said.
Complaints about telecom firms grew by 93% in 2013
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The number of valid complaints about the telecom service providers in the country increased by 93% and inquiries about various telecom services by 51% in 2013 compared to 2012. |
These figures were revealed by the Consumer and Government Affairs manager, Regulatory Authority, ictQATAR, Dr Eiman al-Ansari while presenting the key features of the Telecommunications Consumer Protection Policy yesterday. She said that these were based on the valid queries and complaints from thousands of calls her department had received in the whole year.
In 2013 there were 440 genuine complaints compared to 227 in 2012 which amounts to an increase of 93%. As for the valid enquiries about consumer matters, the department received 418 queries and the same in 2012 was 227 marking a growth of 51%.
Eiman urged the consumers to make use of the hotline to register their complaints as well as queries. Consumers can call ictQATAR’s consumer complaints hotline at (103) from within Qatar and at (0097444069938) from outside Qatar. This service can help consumers resolve complaints if they are unsatisfied with the solution after having gone through their operator’s own complaints process.
The official also said that the regulatory authority has taken up the issue of spam messages as well as unwanted text messages sent on the consumers’ mobile phones with both the operators in the country. She said: “This issue is not just in Qatar alone but a major issue all over the world. Now, there are other applications also which are creating such problems and it can be sometimes beyond the control of the operators even. So we need to use advanced technology to get rid of this issue and the operators in Qatar will have to come out with solutions to this problem.”
Asked about the possibility of a third operator in the country, Eiman said that it was a state policy to be decided by the government. She explained: “Now that ictQATAR has become the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, these are decisions that will be discussed in the Cabinet and the decisions will be taken at the government level. Therefore, it will be a state decision and we will have to wait for the government to announce if any new telecom operator is needed.”
As for the high local call rates in Qatar, she said that the consumers have the right to lodge complaints with the regulatory authority if they feel that charges are high compared to international standards.
“If the consumers approach the service providers and do not get any satisfactory answer, then they can approach us and we will look into the matter if it is genuine,” she added.
IT solutions firm launches disaster recovery service
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Meeza, a leading IT services and solutions provider in Qatar, yesterday announced the launch of disaster recovery and business continuity services in |
“Meeza will leverage HP’s expertise in the business continuity consulting space using industry-proven methodologies and practices to help assess potential vulnerabilities and build the necessary organisational resilience framework to ensure uninterrupted operations of the clients’ IT environment and processes,” CEO Ghada Philip El Rassi said.
Meeza will be able to assist clients at any point in their continuity lifecycle where the partnership teams will lead with consulting services to engage with all concerned stakeholders to assess client needs, she said.
The suite of Meeza’s business continuity services that provide time and recovery point objectives, leverage Meeza’s state-of-the-art M-VAULT data centres including the large scale facility located outside of Doha.
These services offer full redundancy built on the network and interconnections amongst Meeza’s Tier-3 data centres, including MV1 and MV3, located at Qatar Science and Technology Park. Meeza’s disaster recovery (DR) facility is also equipped to offer work area recovery services.
“With this leading step, Meeza is now ready to provide technical and business continuity management services which will ensure that a client’s business continues and is able to survive and recover from large scale interruptions brought about by unexpected events such as Force Majeure,” the CEO stated.
Meeza’s industry-leading data centres will not only serve as ideal primary sites but as DR and backup sites as well. “Meeza offers a complete range of continuity consulting services from continuity workshops, business impact analysis to continuity programme management,” she added.
Fire at PET-CT Centre
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A small fire broke out yesterday in an isolated room in the PET-CT Centre, located next to the National Centre for Cancer Care and Research (NCCCR). |
Staff and patients in the positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET-CT) centre were evacuated as a precautionary measure, a statement issued by HMC said.
The fire was contained quickly by the Civil Defense team. There was no damage to any equipment nor any injuries to patients, staff or public.
To ensure continued safety, the PET-CT Centre will remain closed until it has been cleared by authorities and quality assurance testing has been conducted by HMC.
Patient appointments will be rescheduled, the statement added.
Low-cost carrier Air Arabia expands services
After completing a decade of operations in Qatar, Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier in the Middle East and North Africa, has announced the expansion of its services to Doha yesterday. The airline has increased its existing twice daily services between Sharjah and Doha to three times daily. Air Arabia entered Qatar with a regular service to Doha on January 6, 2004. With the additional frequency, the number of weekly flights to Doha will go up to 21 non-stop services, which depart Sharjah International Airport daily at 8.20am, 3.30pm and 6.30pm. Return flights depart Doha daily at 9.20am, 4.30pm and 7.30pm. Adel Ali, Group CEO, Air Arabia, said Doha has always been a key market for the airline, which hopes to further expand its services from Doha beyond Sharjah, to connect Air Arabia’s other hubs. In 10 years of operations, Air Arabia’s network has expanded to serve over 15 destinations in the GCC from hubs in the UAE and Egypt.
Promotion at Salam Stores
Salam Stores has announced the launch of its winter promotion. On every purchase of QR300 from Salam Stores or any of their fashion boutiques in The Gate Mall, The Pearl and City, customers will be rewarded with a QR100 voucher.
Shoppers can immediately use the vouchers for other purchases at any Salam Stores. The promotion runs until January 19.
Designers featured in the promotion include Temperley London, Elie Tahari, Hugo Boss, Zegna, Givenchy, Just Cavalli, Canali, Paul & Shark, Moschino, La Martina, Paul Smith, and Monnalisa. With the S/S14 season just around the corner, shoppers can also check out the new collections.
