Saeed Al-Suraihi

Okaz



THE director of a city municipality blamed one of the water authority’s contractors for the rainwater that flooded the streets of a city. The director, who was apparently looking for a scapegoat, said the contractor installed sewage pipes and dug up holes on several streets then failed to finish his work.



When rain recently fell on the city, the holes got filled up with water that created stagnant pools in several neighborhoods and in some cases destroyed public and private property.



The names of the municipality and the director are not important. We want to focus here on how he absolved himself and the municipality of any responsibility for what had happened to that city.



Such attitudes usually lead to similar behavior from others. For example, the contractor can also follow suit and absolve himself of any responsibility and pin the blame on workers who were supposed to make sure that the project get completed before the rainy season.



If the municipality director is going to use the motto “Look for a scapegoat to shirk your responsibility and not get in trouble”, the contractor will use the same motto as well.



Strangely enough, the municipality director did not put any blame on the Water and Sanitation Authority, which was supposed to monitor the contractor’s work.



After all, it is the authority that signed an agreement with the contractor to implement the project.



At the very least, the authority should have monitored the contractor’s performance and work.

 

The authority’s negligence in carrying out its responsibilities properly resulted in huge damage to the neighborhood and its residents.



The municipality’s inspectors turned a blind eye to the contractor’s work. How come they also failed to detect any fault at the contractor’s work site?



How come the pipes lying inside street holes failed to attract inspectors’ attention? How come they let this contractor and others destroy our streets?



The municipality director should have admitted from the beginning that he and his colleague, the director of Water and Sanitation Authority, are the ones who should be blamed for this negligence that has cost citizens dearly.