Councils row is put on hold

By MOHAMMED AL A'ALI
BAHRAIN'S five municipal councils will continue operating until August 31, following talks with the government yesterday.
Councillors throughout the country were angered by a Cabinet decision to suspend the councils, since their four-year term is officially over.
They argued that they should not be suspended, since elections for new councils had not yet taken place.
Muncipalities and Agriculture Minister Ali Saleh Al Saleh and other officials met with council chairmen yesterday, to sort out the wrangle.
The meeting was ordered by Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, to end the confusion.
Now it has been agreed that while the 10-member councils will not meet hold full meetings, their general secretariats will continue to handle urgent issues.
The general secretariat on each council consists of the chairman, vice-chairman and the four committee chairman, in other words, six out of the 10 elected members. It was also agreed yesterday to respect any decision by the Ministry of State for Cabinet Affairs legal affairs directorate on how municipal affairs will be handled between August 31 and the election date, which has yet to be set.
Councils will either continue to operate, or responsibility will be passed temporarily to the ministry.
Mr Al Saleh promised yesterday to instruct all municipal officials to deal with councillors as usual.
He stressed that the councils still have their decision-making powers, which ministry and municipal officials must respect.
Mr Al Saleh praised the councils' efforts in developing gardens and the succesful classification of areas in conjunction with the Land Surbey Directorate. This regulated business hours for scrap dealers and shop owners.
Manama Municipal Council chairman Murtada Bader reassured people after the meeting that the councils were still operating.
"The Cabinet's decision created confusion amongst the people, but councillors are still here and willing to listen to the people," he said.
"Based on the agreement, the councils are on holiday for those two months, but that doesn't mean they are suspended.
"Committee and full meetings are over, but the councils' general-secretariat offices will continue, which mean urgent issues will be dealt with.
Muharraq Municipal Council chairman Mohammed Al Wazzan said the suspension was unfair, since the councils were independent financially and administratively.
"The councils' employees are under the chairmen's authority and not the ministry," he said.
"The councils' budget can't be transferred to the ministry, because the ministry has no right to use that money". Mr Al Wazzan said that the councils were legislative bodies, while the municipalities were executive bodies.
"How could an executive body monitor itself, considering that the councils monitor all municipality workers' performance and input?" he said.
Northern Municipal Council chairman Sayed Majeed Al Sayed said that by law the councils' authority could not go to the executive body.
"The flow of authority goes from one council to another and unless a new council is elected, then we should be continuing, rather than the ministry taking our power," he said.