Saudi Gazette report MAKKAH — Fed up of dealing with uncollected garbage on the city's streets, Makkah residents and the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) have said government contracts contain loopholes that enable contractors to avoid paying penalties and accused the municipality of favoritism. The municipality has denied all accusations of favoritism and said government contracts are difficult to cancel/amend and promised to change the way sanitation contracts are awarded. Head of the Sanitation Department at the Makkah Municipality, Mohammad Al-Morqi, said the city has been divided into five areas and different contractors will be responsible for each area. “The contract of the current contractor will finish after 14 months, and the new contracts will likely be awarded before the Haj season. In addition to dividing the city into five areas, new conditions call for 18,000 workers to be available instead of the current 6,000. Technology will also be employed – we will have electronic waste containers and automatic surveillance systems for sanitation vehicles,” he said. The municipality recently identified the site of a new dumping ground for waste collected in the city's south side. It also has plans to develop its sanitation infrastructure by adding mobile stations, mechanical compactors and underground storage. “A campaign to educate citizens, residents and visitors on the importance of not littering will also start soon,” added Al-Morqi. Meanwhile, while responding to criticism against the Jeddah Municipality for uncollected garbage in the coastal city, the assistant mayor at the Jeddah Municipality, Abdulmajeed Al-Batati, said negligence on the part of sanitation companies whose contracts recently expired is to blame. “They have, regrettably, let down the municipality. They were supposed to continue work until the last day of the contract but they stopped much sooner,” he said.
