Capital General Secretariat justifies grocery disposal

Manama: The authorities finally commented on the controversial issue of disposing of fresh fruits and vegetables that were confiscated from street vendors in the Capital.

Capital Secretariat (municipality previously) justified the act of some of the cleaners working under its umbrella by stating that “the confiscated items were seized from free-visa (illegal employment) vendors”.

Explaining further, the secretariat said, “The secretariat is accompanied by other authorities during inspecting campaigns such as Labour Market Regulatory Authority, Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs, Police and Health Ministry.”

“The confiscated items are usually kept at the secretariat for a limited so violators could come and claim them after paying fines. But in the free-visa individuals’ case, no one ever comes to claim the confiscated. Additionally, the secretariat has verified information that this category of street vendors store the food items in unhygienic conditions, so it was immediately disposed of,” the secretariat said in a statement.

The secretariat called upon the public to avoid dealing with street vendors considering the harm caused by them to the society on healthcare and economic aspects.

It confirmed that reports and complaints in this regard are welcomed on the secretariat’s hotline 80001855, complaints’ specialist on 17221415 during official working hours and on www.mun.gov.bh.

The secretariat’s statement broke its silence about the issue of disposing of confiscated fruits and vegetables from street vendors in Manama. The incident was recorded on video and rapidly went viral online, drawing criticism from MPs, activists and citizens. A team of attorneys also announced that they’re filing a complaint against the municipalities.