Trump threatens 50% tariffs on Brazil if it doesn't stop the Bolsonaro 'witch hunt' trial    Trump praises 'good English' of Liberian president, prompting criticism across Africa    Saudi, Hungarian defense ministers discuss military ties    Al-Rajhi: Cabinet's decision is supportive to most vulnerable groups    King Salman appoints Dr. Majid Al-Fayyad as Royal Court advisor    Alkhorayef emphasizes Saudi Arabia's growing role as global industrial investment hub    Saudi Arabia adopts World Drowning Prevention Day as national health priority    GACA imposes SR2.8 million in fines for 87 civil aviation violations in Q2 2025    Desperate Gaza doctors cram several babies into one incubator as fuel crisis reaches critical point    Total e-messages sent to parties in lawsuits reach over 11.8 million during first half of 2025    3 arrested in assault case in Riyadh    New Property Ownership Law will take into effect in January 2026 Al-Hogail thanks King and Crown Prince for the updated law    HONOR returns to Esports World Cup as Official Smartphone Partner for 2025 The renewed commitment will see HONOR elevate mobile esports competition with cutting-edge AI technologies and industry-leading hardware    Riot Games responds to match-fixing allegations in VALORANT    BLAST responds to BESTIA Visa controversy ahead of CS2 Austin major    Christophe Galtier named NEOM SC head coach ahead of historic Saudi Pro League debut    Michael Madsen, actor of 'Kill Bill' and 'Reservoir Dogs' fame, dead at 67    BTS are back: K-pop band confirm new album and tour    Michelin Guide launches in Saudi Arabia with phased rollout in 2025    'How fragile we are': Roskilde Festival tragedy remembered 25 years on    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Pakistani star's Bollywood return excites fans and riles far right    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Credibility of municipality at stake
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 22 - 12 - 2016

Citizens have questioned the credibility of Jeddah Municipality, which has won 18 Arab and international IT awards but failed to repair its central computer system for nearly a month, affecting thousands of business and personal activities of individuals and firms and undermining its reputation.
"My application to get a building construction license is held up at the engineering firm, which has failed to process the application electronically due to municipality's system breakdown," said Musfer Mohammed.
"Whenever I visit the engineering firm, they said the computer system of the municipality is still out of order and nobody can tell me when the system will be repaired," he told Al-Madina Arabic daily.
Fouad Al-Ghamdi said he was unable to inform the municipality the growing number of mosquitoes in Samir district due to the system breakdown. "I tried to call the municipality on 940 to inform it of the problem but the system is not working."
"Where is the municipality's IT department, which has won several international awards and what is the reason for its failure to fix the problem at the central computer system during the past 25 days," he asked.
Jeddah Municipal Council and the IT Department were not ready to respond to questions related to the breakdown. Abdul Majeed Al-Batati, chairman of the council and his deputy Dr. Adnan Al-Bar did not respond to Al-Madina's queries while Dr. Arwa Al-Aama, assistant to mayor for technical affairs, also kept mum on the issue.
Asked when the system would return to normal and how they are going to deal with individuals and firms whose applications could not be processed during the past month, Al-Aama said: "Contact the information center, which is responsible for talking to the media."
The system breakdown has affected the issuance of licenses for construction work and building permits for shops. The municipality normally issues about 7,500 such licenses each month, in addition to permissions for digging works issued to contracting companies as well as for telecom and electricity companies.
"We received applications for at least 5,500 construction licenses and since the system broke down 25 days ago we were unable to process more than 4,000 such applications," an informed source at the municipality told Al-Madina.
"We were supposed to receive about 900 construction designs from engineering firms during this breakdown period," said the source who requested anonymity. The breakdown affected renewal of licenses to be issued to shops as well as work of the municipality's service centers across the city.
However, another official said some departments of the municipality have started working partially. "Efforts are under way for all departments to get back to work in full swing shortly," he added.
Al-Madina visited the municipality's Aziziya branch office and could not find any clients and the official in charge said the office stopped working a month ago due to system breakdown.
Asked whether the branch municipalities would be able to provide paper-based services, the official said it was impossible because all services are now linked with the computer system. "All applications should be sent to the municipality through the system," he added.
The official believed the system would return to normal within two days. On Dec. 1, Jeddah Mayor Dr. Hani Aburas tweeted that efforts are being made to repair the computer system and all electronic services will resume shortly.
The municipality has 14 branches and 26 service centers across the city.


Clic here to read the story from its source.