KUWAIT: Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and Minister of State for Communications Affairs Fahad Al-Shu’la issued a ministerial decision to form a committee that would follow up and evaluate public hygiene contracts across the six governorates. The committee will evaluate the level of public hygiene in all governorates in general through conducting field tours and keeping track of complaints received by the municipality on WhatsApp, the e-baladia app and the 139 hotline.
It will also identify the most glaring issues facing each governorate, explore the factors contributing to the observed disparity in the level of cleaning services among the six governorates and propose appropriate solutions to address these issues. Shu’la said the committee will also be tasked with studying the reports and observations of the Audit Bureau over the last five years in relation to hygiene contracts and how they’re being enforced across the governorates. The end goal is to identify the reasons behind the "low level of service” reported by the bureau, said Shu’la.
He also issued a circular obliging directors and heads of hygiene departments in all municipalities to conduct at least three field tours a week to ensure the commitment of the contracted companies to the terms of the contracts and observe the adherence of hygiene inspectors to existing ministerial resolutions regulating how the performance of these companies will be monitored. The field tours, he added, will help the committee determine any shortcomings in the provision of cleaning services or the monitoring of the implementation of hygiene contracts.
Proposed solutions will be implemented in coordination with the Public Hygiene Committee. A mechanism of action to reduce the incidence of hygiene violations, said Shu’la, will also be worked out by the new committee. How the committee will function The committee will be led by the head of the control and inspection sector. It will include the deputy director general for municipal services sector affairs, directors of control branches at the six governorates and the director of the Public Services Department.
The ministerial decision will give the committee authority to conduct field tours which assess the level of hygiene in all governorates. As part of its mandate, the committee will observe the work of concerned departments within the municipalities and review their records to ensure they are carrying out all their tasks properly. It is also entitled to summon the necessary municipal employees and representatives of cleaning companies who would provide all the information and documents needed for the committee to do its work.