There was heavy rain at the end of March 2014 in Qatar. It was beyond expectation and therefore caused problems in tunnels on Salwa Road and Abu Samra Road. There was waterlogging inside the tunnels making it difficult for scores of vehicles to move.
On March 27, the Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani issued a ministerial decision to form an investigation committee headed by the Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning H E Sheikh Abdelrahman bin Khalifa bin Abdulaziz Al Thani and comprising engineers, technicians and other experts.
The mandate of the committee is to investigate waterlogging in the tunnel on Salwa Road and to fix responsibility.
Reports published on this said that the members of the committee would study the reasons behind the problem, collect evidence and gather all information on the waterlogging with the aim of taking necessary measures against people who failed to do their job properly. The mandate of the committee also included setting up of necessary systems and mechanisms to avoid recurrence of the problem.
I would like state a number of points in this regard:
First, the reaction of the Prime Minister, as expected, was fast. Thanks to the Prime Minister for this.
Second, the formation of the committee: It is necessary for us to know the reasons behind everything that happens in our country so that problems do not recur. Even with this, I still think the committee established by the PM’s order is not a neutral body. It will only gloss over the reality to protect individuals and agencies. With all due respect to the Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning, he heads the two entities that are directly connected with the problem in his capacity as the Minister of Municipality and Urban Planning. The ministry is responsible for the planning of the tunnels. At the same time, the minister is heading the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), which implemented all the projects. It was very important to form the committee with neutral people and it should have been headed by somebody other than the minister. All members of the committee — experts, engineers and advisors — should not in any way be connected to the Ministry of Municipalities and Urban Planning. This will ensure the integrity of the body and increase it ability to zero in on the problem. If this is not done, nobody will know the name of the person(s) responsible for the problem.
Third, the work of the Investigation Committee: The problem does not need an investigation. It is clear from what we read on social network sites and from the reaction of Ashghal on different media.
Fourth, bringing people who did not do their job properly to account: I hope to see this happening very quickly. This was actually what I demanded in a previous article in Al Sharq newspaper on January 26, 2014. Overlooking mistakes by some people is a betrayal of the state and society in general. We should not only blame the contractor, because this will mean we don’t reach the people who are responsible for the crisis. Contractors have a limited period of time during which they must finalise the projects, and they do not have time to wait until government officials solve their disputes. However, if the contractor is found guilty, he must be slapped with a lawsuit. Other projects with this contractor must also be taken away from him.
Fifth, ensuring that the problem will not recur: The problem, according to Ashghal, is linked to the rainwater disposal network, which has not been completed, and is expected to finish next year. However, by going through what is written about the network in newspapers, one can conclude that it will not be complete next year. Ashghal said there is a plan for building a tunnel with a 10-kilometer basin in the sea by the second quarter of 2019. Links to northwestern areas of Doha with the Corniche will be completed by mid-2017. This means that water levels will rise again and the tunnels of Salwa Road will be full of water until these projects are completed. Therefore, we have nothing to do but pray to Allah to stop rains until this project is completed.
Sixth, information that they tried to hide is that the water disposal network will not be complete next year, as Ashghal promised. The problem is not related to project cost but to the dispute between the Municipality and Ashghal on one hand and the Ministry of Environment on the other. The people implementing the project want to establish a 10-kilometer long basin in the sea, whereas the Ministry of Environment wants the basin to be 20 kilometres away from the coast to protect the environment.
I came to my own conclusion on this issue. But I do not want to prejudge the issue before the committee announces the results of its investigation and fixes responsibility. However, I am more convinced about the position of the Ministry of Environment after having visited the basin at the Corniche and seeing its corrosive effects on the environment.
