Radio Television Brunei

The Bandar Seri Begawan Municipal Board has disclosed that improvements will be made to the parking systems and rubbish collection services around the Bandar Seri Begawan area. Parking spaces by the side of the road are found to be most popular among motorists at a charge of 50 cents for every half an hour. The Chairman of the Municipal Department, Awang Haji Saji bin Haji Mudin however, told RTB that the fee collection system at present is inefficient and a number of irresponsible motorists are able to avoid payment.

Although various efforts have been introduced to ease the payment process, the Municipal Department estimates that there remains nearly fifty thousand dollars uncollected in the period from January to November. Starting this year, a new system of parking payment will be introduced. Awang Haji Saji said that the distribution of tickets for designated parking areas will be automated.

Another issue the Chairman of the Municipal Board disclosed to RTB is the problem of garbage collection within the Bandar Seri Begawan area. He said a majority of the garbage trucks used by the Municipal Department are more than 15 years old, and must be sent every 2 or 3 days for repairs. In order to expedite garbage collection around the capital, the Municipal Department are renting spare capacity garbage trucks from the private sector. The department will also be purchasing new trucks which will begin operating this year.

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Government still working on improving unemployment issues

The government has continued its efforts in bringing down the number of unemployment. Based on the latest statistics, there are less than 80,000 domestic work forces, with at least 8 thousand within the working age group who are jobless. Unemployment rates higher than 6% set alarm in those countries where the foreign labour forces are not required. Higher unemployment means lower domestic gross. To solve the problem of unemployment, enormous efforts from various sectors are much needed. The Deputy Minister of Education, Pehin Dato Awang Haji Suyoi Bin Haji Osman, told RTB how the educational departments are not only educating the people, but also helping the nation to solve one of its critical matters - unemployment. Yang Dimuliakan Pehin said the government is not the sole provider of employment to the graduates, and no doubt, working with the government is still the preferred choice, but it is a question of supply and demand. At the moment supply exceeds the demand in the certain sectors. The deputy minister added that people must accept that working in the private sector is no longer an option but is very much going to be a main fixture. Yang Dimuliakan Pehin says, the Ministry of Education is also doing far more than just educating the youngsters. The MOE's Career Resource Centre at the Yayasan Complex aims at helping school leavers with jobs placement. The Centre gives pointers to job seekers on almost everything from arranging interviews to how to dress up. Through the Resource Centre, the Ministry of Education hopes more and more locals will be employed and willing to work in any job position that commensurate with their qualifications and level of education.

Municipal Board plans improvements to Bandar Seri Begawan

The Bandar Seri Begawan Municipal Board has disclosed that improvements will be made to the parking systems and rubbish collection services around the Bandar Seri Begawan area. Parking spaces by the side of the road are found to be most popular among motorists at a charge of 50 cents for every half an hour. The Chairman of the Municipal Department, Awang Haji Saji bin Haji Mudin however, told RTB that the fee collection system at present is inefficient and a number of irresponsible motorists are able to avoid payment. Although various efforts have been introduced to ease the payment process, the Municipal Department estimates that there remains nearly fifty thousand dollars uncollected in the period from January to November. Starting this year, a new system of parking payment will be introduced. Awang Haji Saji said that the distribution of tickets for designated parking areas will be automated. Another issue the Chairman of the Municipal Board disclosed to RTB is the problem of garbage collection within the Bandar Seri Begawan area. He said a majority of the garbage trucks used by the Municipal Department are more than 15 years old, and must be sent every 2 or 3 days for repairs. In order to expedite garbage collection around the capital, the Municipal Department are renting spare capacity garbage trucks from the private sector. The department will also be purchasing new trucks which will begin operating this year.

Stationary stores brace themselves for ‘back-to-school’ rush
The first term of school begins today. Around 100 thousand students will start their school session at government and private schools nationwide. Closer observation by RTB, shows that members of the public were still scouring bookstores and stationary shops doing last minute shopping in search of textbooks and others schools necessities. For some parents extra expenses might be needed for every end of the year, especially to accommodate their children's school expenses. However, this last minute shopping is a common picture in the country, and for some parents it was more convenient as others have been doing the shopping earlier. It has become a trend nowdays, as the first term of school begins, for some students to start off the new school year with everything new from top to toe, including their school things. However, some parents still consider it unnecessary, as what really counts is the education gained by the students. The back to school shopping also benefis shop owners nationwide. They have to prepare extra numbers of text books and other school necessities and some shops even extend their business hours by an extra hour.
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