‘Only Health Ministry competent to check illegal shisha cafes’

The acting Director-General of Muharraq Municipality, Shaikh Mohammed bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, confirmed that the Health Ministry is the responsible body for dealing with coffee shops that are offering shisha without permission.

This came in response to a query by member of Muharraq Municipal Council, Yusuf Al Rayes, during a discussion on the latest decision taken by the  Minister of Works and Urban Planning with regard to the licensing mechanism for shisha cafes.

The representative of the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, Head of Public Relations and Information Department Fadhel Anan said that the jurisdiction of municipal affairs is to authorise the cafe only without shisha, after confirming the availability of the location’s requirements according to the classification and the regulatory requirements for reconstruction.

“In November 2006, a decision was issued by the Minister of Municipalities and Agriculture on the basis of the absence of conditions regulating the work of tobacco products. In 2009, the Tobacco Control Law and the responsibility of the Ministry of Health were issued in 2011 to issue requirements,” Mr Anan explained.

“Now there are two decisions, the decision of the municipalities and the decision of the Ministry of Health, and the legislature authority assured that the Ministry of Health is the competent authority to set the requirements for health, and municipal jurisdiction is  limited to municipal licences, and there is no longer need to rely on the 2006 decision.”

He stressed that the regulations governing the work of cafes and restaurants that supply tobacco and its derivatives for the purpose of smoking (shisha) remain, but have been referred to the competent authorities for application in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism and the Ministry of Health, confirming  that the ministry retained its original competencies related to licensing for the location of the activity and not for the type of activity.

For his part, the Chairman of the Finance and Legal Committee, Ghazi Al Murbati said that after the decision of the Minister of Works and Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning on the abolition of restrictions on the practice of shisha activities in cafes and restaurants, we must, as available powers, address this decision in a manner that protects health and stability of citizens and residents, and seek ways to protect them from the environmental effects and noise that may result from the opening of shops to carry out shisha activities in residential neighbourhoods and others.