Fresh lease of life for tenants

Court stays evacuation of Kuwaiti BuildingSandeep Singh GrewalStaff ReporterThe High Civil Court ruled that evacuation of the Kuwaiti Building be kept on hold until the final verdict is passed. They decided that the municipality would be given 10 days to prepare a report and send it to a technical committee, who in turn will present the final report in the court.Two Bahraini tenants living in the building filed a complaint with the Higher Appeal Court against the Director of the Capital Governorate Municipal Council to review the court’s decision regarding demolition of the building and appoint a construction engineer specialist to conduct a report on whether the building needs to be demolished or repaired.One of the residents who shifted from the building told the Tribune: “The residents plan to file a complaint against the Manama Municipality and want an engineer to review the case with both the parties and prepare a report. The report should be analysed in the court and till then the residents who have not found any accommodation should be allowed to move in till the final verdict is announced.”The tenants will meet today to discuss the matter and file a complaint against the municipality. A resident said: “There are security personnel who are guarding the building and are not easily allowing the residents to take their remaining belongings. Almost all the residents have found accommodation and about 20 bachelors are being provided accommodation by the Coordination Committee of Indian Associations.”Earlier, the Ministry of Interior sealed the twin tower complex following the order they received from the Execution Court to immediately evacuate the building. Many families had to immediately vacate their flats and look for new accommodation and have signed the lease agreement for flats in other buildings.

Keys to comfort

Eighteen families from the Central Municipal council received the keys to their new homes. Built by the Housing Rehabilitation Programme (HRP), a Royal Gesture of His Majesty King Hamad. “This is the fourth handing over ceremony within the past week and a total of 60 new houses have been distributed in Central, northern, Manama and the Muharraq Municipal Council areas,” said Dr. Nabeel M. Abualfatih, Assistant Undersecretary for Housing Affairs and Chairman of the Housing Rehabilitation Committee.New homes have replaced the ageing and dilapidated houses in which the families had lived earlier. This is being done all over Bahrain by the HRP which began a full scale implementation this year and already has completed 100 houses with another 265 under way.The eighteen houses that were handed over were located in Sitra-Mahaza, Sitra-Wadayan, Sitra-Jharjiya, Sitra-Suffala, Sitra-AbuAl Aish, East Eker, Tubli, East Riffa, Al-A’ali, Nuwaidrat, Salmabad and Sanad.

Key to comfortable life

Nine families get rebuilt housesFamilies from Nabi Saleh, Al Mahooz, Juffair, Al Gareefa, and Bilad Al Qadeem received the keys to their newly-built homes. The nine families in the Manama Municipal Council area had lived in old, run-down buildings. Now they will enjoy the benefits of modern high-standard houses, thanks to the national housing rehabilitation programme, initiated by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.Working in co-operation with the five municipal councils, the programme provides new homes for low-income Bahraini families who own and live in old, deteriorated houses. The rundown homes are demolished and replaced, on the same site, with high-quality dwellings and presented to the owners as a Royal gift. The programme began full-scale implementation in the beginning of the year and has completed 200 houses and another 260 are being repaired or rebuilt.Steadily expanding, the programme has a target of 1,000 houses to be rebuilt by April.

Election 2006 Capital Governorate - Constituency 2

This constituency covers a considerable area of the Capital Governorate stretching from Central Market to the periphery of Awal Cinema, and covers the famous Manama Souq, which is set to receive a face-lift soon, the hugely popular Central Market and Ras Roman. The constituency will see a whopping 13 candidates including a woman in the race for the parliamentary seat, but the dice is heavily loaded in favour of Khalil Ibrahim Marzooq of Al Wefaq Society, says Bonny Mascarenhas. A triangular contest is on the cards for the Municipal Council seat, after two candidates dropped out of the race recently. Here again, Majid Milal of Al Wefaq Society seems to be miles ahead in the contest.Off the beaten trackThe Central Market of Manama is a major landmark of the Kingdom. It houses both the wholesale and retail markets catering to all sections of society. From just a fish market in the eighties, Central Market near the Pearl roundabout developed into a major shopping place and is now ‘The’ place for fish, meat, poultry, vegetables and fruits. Four massive sheds with several stalls inside were put up to house the commodities separately. Alas, the vendors now complain of poor maintenance with the sheds turning smelly and stuffy since the air-conditioners break down frequently. They are hoping that whoever wins the election from this constituency will take a hard look at their grievances and restore the market to its lost glory.The candidates speak...Our effort will be country-wide: MarzooqKhalil Ibrahim Marzooq comes across as a soft-spoken and mild-mannered person. But speak to him about issues and problems, and he gets into an animated discussion and can give you a run for your money on any topic. Holding a master’s degree, Marzooq is tipped to come out tops in the election for the Chamber of Deputies seat.Why did you decide to contest this time around?I am well educated and am in regular touch with the people. I was fortunate that the Al Wefaq Society nominated me and it is a challenge for me to do my best for the country. Last year the Al Wefaq had boycotted the parliamentary society so I had not participated. But I was active in the municipal campaign. What is your opinion on women candidates?I think gender should not be a hindrance for a person to contest in elections. Their qualifications, experience, leadership qualities and political background if any should be the criteria that should be looked at. I think women should definitely be part of the election process and in fact Al Wefaq is supporting Munira Fakhro in her campaign.I am also of the opinion that women should definitely vote. The constitution says that every citizen of a certain age is allowed to vote. Voting is not gender-based.What is your election manifesto?The Society has done a lot of research in the past years and feel that housing, road infrastructure and education are the main issues we should look into.How do you aim to work on these issues?First of all let me say that since I am affiliated to the society, whatever action I plan will have been well thought of by experts and they will advise us on what is the best way to approach or resolve the issue. Also as a group all our efforts will be country-wide and not just in my constituency, which is what happens with an independent candidate.Give us your take on the naturalisation issue.I and the Society are not against it, but we feel that only deserving candidates should get this. People with good qualifications, skills or others who will add to the progress of the country should certainly be made citizens but at the same time a certain percentage should be maintained like other countries.Currently people are being called and asked to become citizens, and this is not right, we should not do this. Citizenship should be earned and not given away like cheap throwaways.There are not enough houses and funds for the current Bahraini citizens, giving away citizenship to others will only be a burden on the country.I will carry on from where I left: MilalMajeed Milal is the sitting Municipal Councillor and is a popular candidate in the constituency. He expects to win this election in one round with at least 50% of the votes.Do you think you did a good job as a councillor?I think I completed a lot of what I had set out to do. We managed to get maintenance works done on 12 roads, and with the cooperation of the Ministry of Housing, completed three houses for the locals with another 10 awaiting completion. Additionally 14 bars were closed as these were situated in predominantly Muslim areas. Why did you decide to contest again?Well, there are still some incomplete projects and if elected, I will be able to carry on from where I left. For example, there is a plan for 1640 flats to be built in an empty plot of land. Along with the Municipality and Ministry of Housing, the project has been passed and only a few minor details need to be ironed out. I feel that if a new person comes in, he would have to learn the ropes all over and this could result in delays.What else will you do if elected?Follow up the completion of pavements for roads like the Manama Souq, Imam Ali Hussain road, etc, provide maintenance of public areas and much more. Al Wefaq has drawn up a blue print and we will try to follow this.Do you think it is an advantage to work under the umbrella of a society?Certainly. The member elected on a society’s platform is assured of the support of all the members from the society, while an independent does not enjoy such an advantage.What is your opinion on naturalisation?I think naturalisation should be carried out as per the laws of the land, and not as a favour to a person or persons who may in some way be advantageous to one’s purpose.Narrow roads and rising rentsLack of housing, rising rents and naturalisation are the main issues that the elected candidates will have to address. The constituency is dotted with narrow roads and the increasing number of buildings without adequate or no parking facilities on these streets cause a major problem for the residents. Additionally the high rents for these new flats puts a strain on their finances forcing them to scale down the social ladder a notch or move out. They also feel that naturalisation process was depriving them of their jobs with the newer citizens getting the cream of the jobs. Reports of the presence of about 800 naturalised citizens without CPRs has angered the residents who feel that this was an undemocratic practice. Voters have their sayAqeel Ali: The sitting councillor has improved our area and brought in streetlights where there were none. We know his work and I think he will have the majority of votes in this election too. Maybe he will improve the area further. My vote is for him. Yousuf Bu’allai: With the increase in population in the area, and subsequent increase in vehicles, there is a major problem with parking and people land up double parking causing inconvenience to all. In the more developed areas of the Kingdom, such acts would immediately attract a parking violation ticket, but in our area there is no such action.Jawad Al Salman: I hope the elected candidates will strive towards creating more jobs and housing units for the increasing number of families. In Manama Souq area, single flats are occupied by two families due to shortage of accommodation and also due to rising rents. Also adequate parking spaces should be provided by new buildings or commercial complexes that are being constructed.Sayed Ahmed Sayed Na’ma: Democracy is still in its infancy here. The elected members do not have any real power in their hands. Also when an independent is elected, he disappears and no one can ask him what he is doing. But if a candidate represents a society then at least we can approach them and air our grievances. They will ensure that the candidate will keep the promises that were made. Swing FactorAffiliation to political societies, good educational background and the absence of any anti-incumbency wave versus the rookies in the field. That seems to be the situation in this heavily one-sided electoral battle.Both Khalil Ibrahim Marzooq and Majid Milal, the Al Wefaq candidates for the Chamber of Deputies and Municipal Council seats respectively, are in a commanding position at this stage of electioneering. The equation is unlikely to change, and the dozen opponents in the battle for parliament seat are more likely to fall like the proverbial nine pins. Majid, locked in a triangular contest, is equally stong as he has a proven track record to back him as the ideal candidate. Pretty much a decided case. Straw PollCHAMBER OF DEPUTIESKhalil Ibrahim Marzooq - 75% Other candidates fail to make even a mention among the voters.MUNICIPAL COUNCILMajid Milal 75%Hussain Fardan 15%Ahmed Hassan Ibrahim 10% Fact fileChamber of Deputies - Isa bin RajabMunicipal Council - Majid MilalElectorate - 7200 (0ver 50% women)

Demolition ordered

Higher court upholds ruling to raze Kuwaiti building
Sandeep Singh Grewal
Contributor

Name: Kuwaiti building
Age: 30 years
Address: Gudaibiya
Present status: breathing its last

The Kuwaiti building will be razed.
The High Civil Court yesterday upheld a lower court ruling and said the Manama Municipality could go ahead with its plan to pull down the ‘unsafe’ 11-storey structure.
The first three storeys have shops and the other eight have flats occupied by families.
“We are happy with the court decision. For months we had been waiting for this verdict,” the director-general of the municipalities, Abdul Karim Hassan, told the Tribune after the court proclaimed the verdict.
“The building is not safe to live in. It can collapse anytime.
“A huge fire some 10 years back had damaged the structure and since then it has been in a bad shape.
“The structure is weak and the Civil Defence Department has already confirmed in a report that the building is unsafe to live in. Walls have developed cracks. The ceiling is falling.
“The lifts are supported by additional steel reinforcement which won’t last long. How can we put the lives of so many tenants and shopkeepers in danger?”
“In 10 days we hope to secure the court order to ask the tenants to vacate the building. Surely, we would cooperate with the building management. But if they refuse, we will adhere to our rules and go ahead with our plans to demolish the structure,” Hassan said.
Till evening, tenants were yet to receive any communication on the court order.
“We have not received any information from the building owners. When I contacted the management of the building in the afternoon they said they were waiting for the court verdict,” said one tenant, after learning about the verdict from the Tribune.
Fifty per cent of Block A and 75 per cent of Block B are in use. The court decision will render many families homeless because they will not have much time to look for alternatives and shift,” he said.
Some residents were so enraged that they said they would not pay their rent. “I have been living in this flat for 10 years. Now I suddenly learn the building will be razed. I have two children. Where would I find a house and shift them?
“The rents for most decent accommodations are high. If I want a similar accommodation I would have to shell out more money.
“This is unfair. The building management should have given us advance notice to vacate. There are no laws that would protect tenants’ interests.
“We should be compensated. Many tenants and shopkeepers have spent a lot of money to maintain their shops and flats. Isn’t it the responsibility of the building management?” asked another tenant.
The Manama Municipality had moved a lower court for approval to bring down the building in July after the Civil Defence Directorate declared the building unsafe.
On August 27, the court ruled in favour of the council. Then the building owners appealed the High Civil Court.