Sphinx sued for garbage crisis in Bahrain

Manama : A legal complaint has been filed by the authorities against a cleaning company that was previously tasked to clean the Southern and Northern Governorates.

The move follows claims, blaming the company, Sphinx,  for the recent waste disposal crisis, which swept both the governorates during the past two weeks.

Advocate General at the Public Prosecution’s Technical Office Haroun Al Zayani said, “The prosecution received a complaint from the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning against a cleaning company which had a contract with the Ministry for violations pertaining to its duties.”

Al Zayani said in a statement posted on the prosecution’s official Twitter page, “The complaint is currently under study ahead of the necessary legal procedures.”

DT News has learnt that the Ministry accused the company which was assigned to clean both governorates, of deliberately committing violations to trigger this crisis after its contract with the Ministry was not renewed.

As reported earlier this month, a new Spanish company, Urbaser, was tasked to clean both governorates, replacing Sphinx. However, waste was not removed for several days from many areas, causing foul smell and public nuisance. 

The accumulation of garbage was attributed to multiple reasons, including lack of staff and equipment in the new company and poor handing-over arrangement of the Ministry. 

At the same time, conspiracy theories were also revealed, as Urbaser CEO Luis Delcampa said the company was facing several challenges in its first week of operation, including non-removal of waste from the area by the previous company in the last few days in its contract with the Ministry, causing piles of waste in different parts of the governorates, and making the task of the new company more difficult.