DOHA: The state-run ration department that provides quality food items to citizens at highly subsidised rates has urged the beneficiaries not to sell those items on the black market to make a quick buck.
“It’s the state money that goes into the subsidy and the items are for your personal use, so please don’t misuse the privilege,” a senior official from the Department of Tamween (ration) said, calling on fellow nationals not to take undue advantage of the state largesse. The unnamed official told local Arabic daily Al Raya in remarks published yesterday that the black marketing of the subsidised food items had, though, substantially dropped since smartcards were introduced a while ago.
Meanwhile, a number of nationals told the daily they had seen some outlets supplying the subsidised items, storing up several smartcards (of beneficiaries), which suggested that the black marketing was still on.
“I have seen several smartcards lying with some outlets. So, obviously, some beneficiaries are still selling the items on the black market,” said Khalifa Al Suwaidi.
The authorities must monitor the outlets and conduct strict checks and punish the culprits, he said. Another citizen, Jamal Al Suwaidi, said that the subsidised items were being provided by the state for decades and the number of items remained the same.
“We have been getting milk, edible oil, sugar, rice and wheat flour at subsidised rates since 1970s. There have been no additions,” he said. “We want things like butter, meat, chicken and fish added to the list.”
black market
About the black market, he claimed that was still happening and the buyers were mainly smaller restaurants and cafeterias. “What we need is strict monitoring by the authorities.”
“I have myself seen a number of beneficiaries leaving their smartcards with their PINs at outlets, obviously to sell their monthly quotas on the black market,” Al Suwaidi said. Yet another citizen, Issa Al Hammadi, sounded furious and said that people had been complaining for the past two months about shortages of subsidized rice.
He said he suspected that the rice had disappeared from the outlets after stocks of high quality rice began to be supplied. “Earlier, the rice was of average quality.”
But the Ration Department official said that was not the case as supplies from the source fell by almost half for reasons that were “beyond our control”. “We will soon be releasing full quota. The shortage wouldn’t be repeated.” The official said that the procurement of quality rice will be made for an entire year so there wouldn’t be shortages in future The Peninsula
