The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) should allocate space at fishing ports for display and public auction of fish, the Central Municipal Council (CMC) recommended yesterday.
The biweekly regular session suggested that the MME inspectors should check the freshness of fish before conducting the auction. The council had earlier discussed public complaints of rising prices of fish at the local market and looked for solutions to exercise tighter control on this.
Accordingly, the CMC recommended that the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (MEC) should issue a daily bulletin indicating the base price for a kilo of each variety. Auctioneers should not be allowed to impose a starting price for the fish on display and leave the matter to the bidders.
CMC member Abdullah Saeed al-Sulaiti had submitted a suggestion regarding the uncontrolled rise in fish prices besides the considerable difference in rates from one place to another for the same type of fish, and called for the introduction of an effective mechanism to check this phenomenon.
Officials from the MME’s fisheries department told the council that the department is keen to maintain and develop the natural fish stock in the country. The department also helps and directs fishermen on fishing equipment and tools. Besides, the department has survey and statistics employees at the local market who measure the locally caught quantity and that of imported fish.
Similarly, MEC officials stressed that they have employees who monitor the fish auctioneers at the time of auctions and the law allows the auctioneer to get 3% of the price. The process is organised by MEC, where each participant at the auction is given an identification badge, and the whole process is under MEC control. However, the auctioneer is the person who determines the starting price of the auction. Regarding specifying set prices for each variety of fish, the officials pointed out that it is mainly governed by the actual supply and demand, and the Consumer Protection Department issues a daily list of the average prices of fish.
The CMC stressed the need for more signs on the different roads of the country, in particular the highways, to guide motorists to the nearest services and towards their destinations. These boards should be conspicuous and easily recognisable but should not hide the main traffic signs or cause any disturbance to the flow of the traffic. The council directed such recommendations to the Public Works Authority (Ashghal).
The council hosted yesterday officials from Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) who introduced efforts in addressing and treating cases of age related memory loss, especially for those age 65 years old and above.
Dr Hanadi al-Hamad, chairperson of Geriatrics and Long Term Care at HMC, pointed out that HMC in co-operation with the Ministry of Public Health is set to conduct a field survey on memory loss in elderly patients through health centres around the country.