Muharraq council to go paperless

Muharraq Municipal Council is expected to go paperless and be the example of an environmentally friendly organisation within the government, said the head of the council. Engineer Abdulnasser Al Mahmeed, Chairman of the Muharraq Municipal Council, told the Bahrain News Agency (BNA) that a decision was taken to move to more efficiency.“The plan for now is to do away with all paper – including books and other equipment – using laptops. We have also decided to remove the personal computers from all the offices of the council members,” said the council head.The agenda at the weekly council meetings is generally thick books that are unwieldy to carry and consume much paper, he said. “By doing away with this item of consumables we are able to save on much paper and in the process helping save environment,” said Al Mahmeed.At the council meetings the members will only use the laptops given to them and no form of paper is allowed to be used in the council hall, he added.By doing away with the personal computers in the offices of the council members there is also considerable saving on the costs involved in buying the laptops, added the council head. The details of each item to be discussed at the weekly meeting with the illustrations will come alive on the laptop and help in better debate, said Al Mahmeed.In addition to going electronic, the meetings will also be videographed, he added. From still photography that is carried out now, the enhancement is using video cameras and friendly film format for longer storage, so that an archive can be created, said the council head.“Such storage will result in archiving and can be recalled when there are disputes or even by those who occupy the council in the future. Such a system can also benefit researchers looking for municipal information in the future,” said Al Mahmeed.As the videographers come alive, he said, screens will be installed in the lobby of the municipality so that the citizens and those who are interested can see the proceedings in the council hall and even see what their elected members are discussing, he added.“Once these are in place, the website and all channels on the social websites will be enabled so citizens can browse the net and know what has been discussed,” said the council head.These moves are expected to bring the council closer to the people and more environment friendly, said the chairman.