Members demand more control over cleaning companies


KUWAIT: Municipal Council Chairman Osama Al-Otaibi (center back) speaks during yesterday’s session. — Photo by Fouad Al-Shaikh

KUWAIT: Municipal Council Chairman Osama Al-Otaibi adjourned the council's session yesterday after members Hamad Al-Medlej, Abdul Aziz Al-Mejel, Abdullah Al-Roumi and Humoud Al-Enezi withdrew in protest of forming a committee to discuss the council's internal charter. Otaibi then ordered reporting the matter to the council's secretariat general and discussed the new cleaning contracts.


Commenting on the issue, member Abdul Salam Al-Randi said municipal cleaning inspectors were not doing their jobs properly and that municipality officials had been refusing to attend workshops the council had organized. Council members Ahmed Al-Hadbban, Maha Al-Baghli, Fahd Al-Muwaizri and Meshaal Al-Hamdhan all criticized the performance of cleaning companies in various areas around Kuwait and called for more control on them.


On the other hand, member Humoud Al-Enezi called for more time to investigate the matter before jumping to conclusions and judging cleaning companies. He also refused to respond to social media reports, describing them as rumors. Member Hamad Al-Medlej wondered on the reason behind cutting the value of cleaning contracts, saying these contracts involve visa trafficking suspicions. In the meantime, the council's legal advisor Rajaan Al-Ghareeb stressed that the council should obtain copies of the cleaning contracts from the municipality and that those contracts should match all tendering conditions. He also gave the municipality the right to annul any contract in case of inaction.

By Meshaal Al-Enezi