Bahrain MPs to question Minister on rotten meat scandal
Parliamentarians are seeking an open questioning of a Minister, on the background of the “contaminated meat scandal” that badly shook the country by the beginning of this year, DT News has learnt.
The Parliamentary committee, which was formed earlier this year to investigate the matter, confirmed that it would soon file a request to question Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister Essam Khalaf before the council.
The questioning comes as the responsibility of examining imported meat and livestock comes under the Animal Wealth Directorate, which is a department under the Ministry’s Agriculture and Marine Resources Affairs.
Speaking to DT News yesterday, Parliament’s Contaminated Meat Investigative Committee Chairman Jamal Buhassan claimed, “The Minister had failed to do his duty properly. It was his responsibility to ensure that necessary procedures were followed for the import of the frozen meat to Bahrain, but it was neglected.”
“The Ministry didn’t follow the procedures required for the import of frozen meat and consequently rotten meat harmful for the health of the citizens entered our homeland,” said Buhassan.
“Our major responsibility is to protect Bahraini citizens from all sorts of hazards, including health threats,” he said, adding, “the minister should have fulfilled his duty by ensuring that the citizens needs are fullfilled, but he didn't."
The lawmaker said that the questioning decision was based on the result of their past few months of investigation. He said, “This should also serve as a warning to other ministers who are not doing their work properly.”
“In the coming days, four more ministers may come under investigation in other issues,” he revealed.
Buhassan alleged that “the scandal had weakened the confidence of the people of Bahrain in our food safety system."
“The Bahrain Livestock Company was also not careful in following all the necessary procedures. Next month, we will submit to the council our request for questioning the minister. Referring the outcome of the investigation to the Public Prosecution will not take more than a month,” Buhassan confirmed.
“The meat scandal was a black spot on the fair name of Bahrain and it damaged the confidence of the people on the Bahraini import systems,"he added.
The contaminated meat scandal broke in the middle of January this year, after the health officers seized a consignment of frozen meat that was proved to be unfit for human consumption.
The Parliamentary committee was urgently formed with the aim to investigate and identify the weaknesses in the meat imports system and suggest ways to avoid such happenings in future.
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