Abdu Khal Okaz newspaper WE still don't know how to rejoice. All occasions that we are supposed to celebrate back up this claim. With the celebration of the National Day, it was evident that there are those who think that rejoicing equates to an assault on the freedom of others. This assault takes different shapes until it ends up in accidents and obstruction of traffic for hours. All these traffic jams happen due to the lack of space for holding public events and because so many residents of a city move to a specific area that does not have the capacity to accommodate such huge crowds. And this leads to chaos and traffic jams that eventually turn the joy into congestion. Finding suitable places is very important, and sponsoring events is even more important. Preparations for the event are not simply about making announcements about when the event starts while failing to get the venue ready and not devising activities to entertain people. As for announcing the event, it should be made after all preparations are made and therefore people can go out, gather and enjoy the festivities. The National Day celebrations demonstrated there had not been any real preparations for holding the event. I do not mean how prepared the security forces were, but the lack of programs and getting places ready where people can gather together and enjoy the festivities. I once again reiterate that every such occasion demonstrates the fact that expression of joy never finds a suitable outlet. WHENEVER I read about the misery of widows and divorcees, the two needs of housing and eradication of poverty come to my mind. These schemes need media attention, follow-up and proper evaluation of the outcomes. I thought about these two sections of people, whose numbers are on the rise. The media is a mirror that reflects what is taking place in society. We find it focusing on things only for a short time and then pursue new issues to give coverage to. These schemes received foremost attention and follow-up coverage in the media. And our reporters spoke about these schemes and informed us about what happened to them and how far they achieved their desired goals. I remembered these two schemes when the Real Estate Development Fund (REDF) decided to exempt the families of deceased borrowers from having to repay their loans and mortgages. So far, there were only two batches of beneficiaries for this concession. There are also a large number of families who are still awaiting an exemption from repaying their loans and their mortgages to improve their living conditions. With the available fast means of communications, we were supposed to have a huge electronic network linking the ministries and the concerned government departments in order to speed up transactions for the benefit of these citizens. The REDF has so far completed the procedures for two batches of beneficiaries. There is hope the fund will speed up the rest of the transactions so that the remaining beneficiaries will be able to use their properties. — [email protected]
