MMRA to implement new fees

Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs will begin implementing new fees gradually, Al-Hayat reported. Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs spokesman Hamad Al-Omar said the new fees would be announced in the next 90 days. “The fees will be applied gradually. After the fees are announced, the ministry will announce the services that will have fees on them. The Eastern Province Municipality already announced a month ago that the fine for littering would be SR200,” said Al-Omar. He added the fine would be applied for littering on the streets, public places, parks and water bodies. “The municipality aims to preserve the environment and the hygiene of the city. The municipality and Imatah Program celebrated the 86th National Day and held events for an entire day. One of the events was having artists come and draw their illustration of the National Day,” said Al-Omar. He also said there were also educational and entertaining contests on the importance of hygiene and sanitation and a contest to design the Kingdom’s flag. “There was also a memorial filled with phrases of appreciation and support dedicated to the soldiers in the southern borders,” said Al-Omar. Eastern Province Municipality Secretary Abdullah Al-Qarni said the celebration was to raise awareness of the culture of hygiene and sanitation. “The municipality organized Imatah Campaign for a year. The campaign included 12 programs to raise awareness and spread the culture of hygiene and sanitation. The campaign also had a presence on Twitter. About 90,000 people pledged to preserve environmental hygiene,” said Al-Qarni. He also said 1,500 workers in Al-Khobar have also pledged to be hygienic in their workplace. “About 24 schools participated in the campaign and 300 students volunteered for the campaign. The campaign also had seven government directories participating in organizing it. The municipality signed 24 agreements to ensure that the campaign reaches all layers of society,” said Al-Qarni. He added there were 70 volunteers cleaning the bleachers of a soccer stadium and raising awareness of the importance of cleanliness during soccer matches. “20,000 volunteers distributed 550 posters of the campaign in shopping centers in Dammam for three days,” said Al-Qarni.