The Jeddah Municipality has implemented a unique program to establish direct contact with members of the public for feedback on its services and for registering complaints.

Through the program, municipality officials are able to interact directly with residents.

The program is conducted on weekends for maximum turnout.

The municipality has conducted nine such interactive forums so far and has zeroed in on the southern and central parts of Jeddah, which are severely lacking in several civic amenities.

Abdul Malik Junaidi, chairman of the Jeddah Municipal Council, said in a statement that the Jeddah Municipality is following the directives of Prince Mansour, minister of municipal affairs, to improve civic services in the city.

Junaidi organized an interaction forum in downtown Jeddah on Saturday. Several residents voiced their grievances and offered suggestions to improve services.

During the forum, the chairman said that the municipality is fully equipped to deal with catastrophes such as heavy rains. He said: “We can now drain water from pools and puddles within six hours through water trucks.”

Junaidi also noted that residents can lodge their complaints through social networking sites or call a toll free number.