Khaberni - Minister of Local Administration Walid Al-Masri stated that about 24 million dinars have been allocated for the implementation of projects to update and develop infrastructure in municipalities this year, in response to the impacts of climate change, especially the increase in the amount of heavy rainfall over short periods, according to set priorities and studied plans.
Al-Masri added in a statement for the ministry on Wednesday that Prime Minister Jafar Hassan directed the Ministry of Finance to allocate an amount of 10 million dinars from the emergency expenses item, to improve the infrastructure in the provinces, especially those affected by the weather conditions the Kingdom faced. Additionally, municipalities allocated 4 million, and the private sector 10 million.
He explained that climate changes have imposed a new reality characterized by unexpected heavy rains exceeding usual rates, which revealed that the existing infrastructure in many areas of the Kingdom cannot accommodate these large amounts of rain in short periods like those experienced in some areas during the recent weather depressions, necessitating efforts to develop and update them.
He also mentioned that the rainfall during the last weather depression was high and exceeded expectations, reaffirming that climate change is a cause of these weather phenomena and requires a sustainable response through updating drainage networks and municipal infrastructure to better cope with emergency weather conditions.
Regarding the readiness of the municipalities, Al-Masri clarified that the municipalities, joint service councils, and municipal affairs directorates in various provinces of the Kingdom were highly prepared to deal with the last weather depression, which contributed to mitigating its effects and minimizing damage, as field, technical, and administrative teams worked around the clock.
Al-Masri confirmed that the coordination and teamwork among various entities clearly contributed to reducing the damage.
He praised the efforts of the municipalities, joint service councils, and all working staff in maintaining the safety of citizens and protecting lives and properties.
He indicated that the ministry will activate the early warning system, develop rapid response tools, and improve monitoring and preparedness mechanisms, which will enhance the municipalities' ability to deal with difficult weather conditions in the future, and identify danger levels and hotspots in each area in preparation for weather depressions.
It is worth mentioning that the central emergency room in the Ministry of Local Administration dealt with a large number of observations during the weather depression, where the majority of them were addressed, while efforts continue to complete the remaining, concurrently with the work of subsidiary emergency rooms in various areas of the Kingdom.
