Irate Bahrain Lawmakers Want Minister To Resign Over Abuses

Manama, Bahrain (AHN) - A conservative Sunni bloc of the Bahrain parliament is demanding the resignation of the minister of municipalities and agriculture affairs, Mansoor Bin Rajab, after he was found guilty by lawmakers of misuse of power and financial irregularities.

Members of Parliament voted against the minister during the weekly parliament session on Tuesday.

"The minister should submit his resignation or the government should terminate him from his services effectively. The voting by majority has found him guilty of abusing his power," parliament member Abdulhaleem Murad of the Al Asala bloc told AHN.

Bin Rajab was initially given a clean chit by the financial and economic affairs committee that spearheaded the investigation. The minister was accused of using 17 petrol coupons intended for official government business for his personal use.

Other charges included serving on the board of directors of companies and benefiting from them (a violation of the Bahrain constitution) and breaching rules set by the Civil Service Bureau.

The minister also was held responsible for a fiasco in waste management which lead to a garbage crisis in the country. A private cleaning company, MBM Alam Flora, reportedly pulled the plug on its services in March here after issues with the Ministry over payments.

Bin Rajab categorically denied all the charges leveled against him by the lawmakers.

Murad said he had asked the minister to quit his post two months ago to avoid embarrassment. But on Tuesday, 20 MPs voted against the minister. Two MPs supported them initially for interrogating the minister, but did not vote, along with another MP.

Salafist Independent MP Jassim Al Saidi said in a statement that Al Wefaq bloc, the largest Shia bloc in the House representing 17 MPs, abstained from voting as the minister is also a Shia.

But Murad said that even Al Wefaq supported them. This, he said, was based on minutes of the meeting on May 5 signed by Al Wefaq MP Jassim Hussein stating that Bin Rajab had violated laws by using petrol coupons for his personal purpose.

But the battle may be cut short for MPs, as the second legislative term of the Shura Council and House of Representatives ends on Saturday.

Murad said the bloc lost an opportunity to submit a proposal signed by 10 MPs demanding the sacking of Bin Rajab, according to the parliamentary bylaws.

"After seven days of the result of the committee, we could have submitted a proposal to sack the minister. But there is no time now. We are 40 MPs elected by the people of Bahrain who have found him guilty... he should quit," the MP said.

The session will be adjourned until October, but the irate MPs are in no mood to give up.

"There will be a cabinet reshuffle in the summer where two ministers will be replaced. One is a Shia minister - Bin Rajab - and the other is a Sunni, Minister of Cabinet Affairs Shaikh Ahmed bin Attiyatallah Al Khalifa," Murad indicated.

The past few parliament sessions have witnessed heated debates and walkouts regarding the two ministers. Al Wefaq bloc could not win a majority of votes to grill Shaikh Ahmed, who was cleared of charges that included allegations of financial irregularities including discrepancies in employment in Civil Service Bureau and concealing the fact that Bahrain population had crossed 1 million.