AT the outset, I would like to extend my heartiest congratulations to the Jeddah Mayoralty for winning two prestigious awards for refurbishing and remodeling Jeddah's North Corniche seafront in a short span of time. Firstly, the Mayoralty bagged the Big Project Middle East Award for the year 2012. The seafront project was chosen from among 335 entries submitted for the special quality award. The project also won the second prize at the Exhibition on Organizing Cities in the Kingdom. The recently opened landmark project is considered to be the largest single phase multi-recreational and entertainment facility in the Middle East region. The manager of the company which developed the Corniche seafront project said that a total of 1,050 projects vied for the prestigious Big Project Middle East Award at the competition held in Dubai last month. These entries were shortlisted first to 63 and then to 30. Of these, six Saudi projects qualified for the final round. Regarding the jury panel's criteria for choosing the winning Civil Development Project, the manager said: “There were different criteria for design, selection of environment-friendly materials and the concern given to serve people with special needs.” After extending congratulations to the Mayoralty, I would like to ask a few questions about the general state of various districts in the city. It seems illogical and unreasonable that the Mayoralty has focused on refurbishing and developing only one part of the seafront by spending SR180 million. Press reports state that the Mayoralty concentrated on aspects of beautification and the use of expensive materials without exploring the prospect of spending this large amount of money on refurbishing Jeddah's entire seafront, including the remaining part of the North Corniche, in addition to the South Corniche, which has been totally neglected as if it were not a part of the city. It has to be recognized that there is a danger that the Mayoralty's focus on aesthetic aspects and its use of expensive materials may encourage rowdy youths, as well as those who engage in vandalism to tamper with these achievements and spoil this property. This in fact is already starting to happen. There have been reports that some of these troublemakers have already broken the windows of some toilets and smashed the barriers which prevent the entry of vehicles. They have also painted graffiti on the walls of bathrooms in total disregard for the value of public property. Therefore, it is essential to install surveillance cameras and station security guards to prevent these facilities from being damaged. Apart from this, awareness campaigns should be launched making use of the media, schools and Friday sermons in mosques. It is also essential that the Jeddah Mayoralty, while demonstrating concern for refurbishing the seafront, should not ignore the importance of maintaining the cleanliness of other parts of the city, especially its southern, eastern and central districts. Garbage overflowing from containers can be seen in many parts of the city. The ugly habit of littering shows a lack of public awareness of the importance of hygiene and cleanliness in addition to the lack of monitoring by the companies that have been given cleaning contracts. These companies, most often, fail to provide a sufficient number of street cleaners. Needless to say these workers receive nominal salaries and are provided with poor accommodations. We should not expect workers who feel bitter about the injustice meted out them to work properly. Moreover, companies, which have been awarded cleaning contracts do not employ an effective mechanism to monitor the work of street cleaners. For some reason these companies do not fear being fined for their failure to discharge their responsibilities. Finally, I call upon the Saudi Environmental Society and the Friends of Jeddah Corniche not to restrict their activities to the Corniche alone but instead to take into account the city as a whole. The Friends of Jeddah Corniche should be renamed Friends of Jeddah or Friends of the Mayoralty or Friends of the Environment in consideration of the fact that the Corniche is only a part of the city. If any part of the city is filthy, then it can be said that Jeddah is not clean. Those who frequent the Corniche, whether they are residents of Jeddah or those who come from outside the city, will not feel comfortable unless the whole city is clean.
— Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at [email protected]
