Stricter Laws on Public Hygiene in Qatar

The Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) has announced that as of February 1, 2018, municipalities in Qatar has implemented the Law No. 18 of 2017 on Public Hygiene. With this, they are encouraging locals, expats and tourists alike to be more conscious on following the law to keep the country neat and clean.

Qatar has always been proud on their nation’s cleanliness that attracts and welcomes tourists visiting their country.

New Law on Public Hygiene

Following the announcement on the implementation on the new law, MME in a statement said that:

‘It has prepared a comprehensive media campaign to raise awareness of the new hygiene law, which includes providing information about the new violations through advertisements. Informative material will be put up along streets across the country, and a campaign will also be conducted on the Ministry’s social networking sites.’ (Source: Hukoomi Portal)

Stricter laws on public hygiene passed to ensure cleanliness in Qatar. ©Kim Kash/Flickr

The new law, issued by His Highness the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in October last year, will prohibit littering in public places and lay down strict penalties for those who will violate the law.

Together with the issuance of the new law by His Highness, officials in different municipalities have been ordered to distribute the revised correspondence and to pull out the old records and replace them with the new one which is incorporated with new provisions on the violations and reconciliations as specified in the new law.

Violations and Penalties

The list of violations and its corresponding penalties have been posted on the Hukoomi Portal of Qatar.

And to ensure that the general public would be aware of the Law No. 18 of 2017 on Public Hygiene, The Ministry of Municipality and Environment tweeted that the new law is being strictly implemented and that everyone is expected to cooperate.

Advisory from the Philippine Embassy

Following the announcement of His Highness of the new law, the Philippine Embassy in Qatar issued an advisory to make sure that the Filipino community in the country would be more mindful of their actions when in public places and ensure that they are following the new Public Hygiene law.
Photo Credit: Philippine Embassy in Doha

So the next time you are in public places, be careful of where you throw away that garbage.

In a statement, Safar al-Shafi, director of the General Cleanliness Department at the MME stressed that they are expecting full cooperation of the public for the comprehensive implementation of the new law which is in line with the current development of the country as well as its future possibilities.