JEDDAH, 22 August 2006 — Laborers working on laying sewage pipes in various districts across Jeddah, are abusing municipal equipment and material by offering to pave roads and paths for Jeddah residents for cash payments.
Though the construction companies are only obliged to pave the area they have dug up, workers, mainly of Asian nationalities, use municipal asphalt to earn extra money.
“Those construction companies who have been given contracts by Jeddah Municipality seem unable to supervise their laborers,” said Naser Al-Silami, a resident of Madain Al-Fahad District.
Following some digging in his area, Al-Silami says a laborer approached him saying he would pave a damaged part of a road opposite his building. “The Asian laborer told me with full confidence that it would cost SR1,000. He was talking with full confidence as if he owned the equipment and materials,” he said.
He said that he had to bargain with him until they both agreed on SR600. Al-Silami collected the cash from flat owners living in his building and gave it to the laborer who immediately started work.
Al-Silami said that while the laborers were working on the roads in the district, he never saw any responsible person or supervisor except on the first day of work. “Without supervision, people can do what ever they want,” he said.
Osama Khidr, a resident of the Ghulail District, said that he approached one of the workers to ask him to pave a small parking space in front of his house. “The man told me that he would take SR500 for laying asphalt and SR150 for just dumping the asphalt on his parking space,” he said.
“Those people seem to have pricing for every thing, which indicates that they are doing it quite a lot,” Khidr added.
He said that since he was desperate to get the job done he accepted the deal. “I let him dump the asphalt for SR100 and then brought my friends to spread it around and water it. I finally drove over it with my friend’s big truck to make it firm and compressed,” said Khidr.
Arab News contacted the construction company involved but the manager was unavailable for comment, instead the duty manager took the line and didn’t seem eager to talk with the press.
Without mentioning his name he said, “Such a thing is illegal and they would fire the worker if it was proven that he did such a thing.”
