Residents worried over Municipality decision to impose BD50 fine

Manama : Residents are concerned over the BD50 fine imposed on individuals living in the Southern Governorate who do not update their information at the Southern Area Municipality. The municipality yesterday mentioned in a letter served on several citizens and residents residing in the Southern Governorate, which includes Riffa, several parts of Isa Town, Zallaq and other areas that BD50 fine will be imposed on residents who do not update their information.

Served by the Human Resources and Financial Affairs Directorate in Southern Area Municipality, the letter called upon the public to update their municipal accounts data to avoid paying BD50 fines. 

DT News obtained a copy of the letter, which mentioned, “It’s important to visit Office 11 in the Municipality building with copies of the ownership certificate, lease contract or the Commercial Registration (CR), along with a copy of the identity card. We look forward to your cooperation by promptly attending or deputising a person to attend. Call 17986152 for more inquiries.”

The letter is signed by the Revenue Division Head and was concluded by a note written in bold font stating, “In case no response was received within 10 days of your receipt of this letter, a BD50 temporary fee will be imposed, coming into effect beginning from January 1, 2018.”

The document raised a public concern conveyed through local networks on Instagram and Twitter, criticising the increase of fines imposed on citizens and residents in recent years.

This pushed the municipality to issue a clarifying statement, which mentioned, “Referring to what was published through the social media programs and the local newspapers regarding the updating of the accounts of the participants in the Southern Area Municipality, the municipality wishes to confirm that these notices are sent periodically to the participants to ensure that they correspond to the Municipality Information Center.”

“The municipality shall confirm that such notices are sent periodically to the participants in order to ensure that they are identical with the Municipality Information Center. Due to the big number of the accounts to be updated, it has been decided to extend the grace period for three months instead of 10 days after receiving the notice of attendance,” it was added in the statement.