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Riyadh: Hundreds of men and women, representing some 4.5 million inhabitants of Riyadh, took part in an open meeting with the members of the capital's municipal council here on Tuesday. This was the first ever open meeting of the people in a Saudi city with the elected members of their council. The meeting witnessed a free and frank airing of views by the citizens of Riyadh about the pros and cons of the council's performance that took over office after the first elections held last year. Several media personalities also attended the meeting. Addressing the gathering, Riyadh Mayor Dr Abdul Aziz Al Muqrin, who is also the chairman of the municipal council, said that the municipality is proud to lead other municipalities in the kingdom in successfully holding the first ever election and ensuring active public participation in the governance.
He sought full support of the public to the municipality for implementing its various plans and projects in a way fulfilling the hopes and aspirations of the people. The citizens who attended the meeting were highly enthusiastic for having an outlet for their views with regard to the performance of the council. Some of the attendees criticised the council members for ignoring development needs of some areas in the city. There were heated exchanges between the members and citizens with regard to the services being extended to them as well as the promises given to them during the election campaign.
The 14 council members answered questions raised by the citizens and assured them to fulfil the promises on priority basis. Abdullah Al Babateen, secretary general of the council, said that the open meeting reflects the council's keenness in enhancing interaction with the public and listening to their views in a direct and transparent manner. Dr Ebrahim Al Quaid, chairman of the Public Contacts Committee at the municipality, said that the meeting gave the people an opportunity to exchange their views on the performance of the municipality with the members of the council and raise their demand for implementing development projects and improving services being extended to them by the municipality. He said that the municipal council will take seriously the proposals made by the participants in this respect.
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