RIYADH: While the Riyadh Mayoralty has denied responsibility for the rise in the price of vegetables and blamed the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Consumer Protection Society (CPS) announced on Monday that it was relieving its chairman, Dr. Muhammad Bin Abdul Kareem Al-Hamad from his post for allegedly causing “material and moral” damage to the organization. The society warned that as of Tuesday Oct.19, Al-Hamad was no longer a member or chairman of the society and would not represent the society in any way, according to a report in Al-Hayat daily Tuesday. Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Ayyaf, Mayor of Riyadh, said on Monday that the mayoralty is not responsible for the price hikes and the responsibility lies with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Al-Ayyaf's statement comes in reply to the mayoralty being blamed for the hikes Sunday by Saleh Al-Khaleel, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for Consumer Affairs. Al-Ayyaf said the Riyadh mayoralty has introduced an index for monitoring prices, which has been transferred to the Ministry of Commerce. On Al-Hamad's dismissal, Al-Hayat reported it has a copy of a statement from the Executive Council of the CPA, announcing that a unanimous decision was taken by its members to relieve him of his position and to cancel his membership. It also announced that it was unlawful to convene the CPA's General Assembly. The statement said the Executive Council would meet soon to set a date for convening the General Assembly and hold early elections for the positions of chairman, deputy and board of directors. The council decided to form a tripartite committee to run the affairs of the society in the interim. Al-Hayat had telephoned the ousted CPA chairman but he refused to comment.
