www.thepeninsulaqatar.com BUSINESS | 21 SPORT | 36 Oil output freeze GCC Golf will work, Championship to says Al Sada start tomorrow MONDAY 29 FEBRUARY 2016 • 20 Jumada I 1437 • Volume 20 • Number 6721 thepeninsulaqatar @peninsulaqatar @peninsula_qatar Emir receives Expats use seven Emir and Nigerian President hold talks message from Saudi King DOHA: Emir H H Sheikh Tamim times less water bin Hamad Al Thani received a written message from the Custo- dian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, containing an invi- than Qataris tation to the closing ceremony of Ra’ad Al Shamal military exer- cise, which will be held at King Khalid Military City in the King- official sources. The figures appear dom in March. The message was as part of the Committee’s latest handed over by Saudi Ambassa- Kahramaa wants study on population and water use in dor Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Aifan water desalination the country as part of Qatar National at the Emiri Diwan yesterday. capacity increased. Vision 2030. This is the eighth study since the → Picture on page 3 population panel began conducting such surveys in the year 2008. The aim of the study is to assess Truce broken 15 By Mobin Pandit the sustainability of Qatar’s water and Mohamed Osman resources in the light of the fact times on Saturday: The Peninsula that the country gets very low rain- Emir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and Deputy Emir H H Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad Al fall (annual average 76mm) and has no rivers. Thani with Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari at the Emiri Diwan yesterday. Qatar and Nigeria Syria opposition The country is, thus, heavily signed agreements on avoidance of double taxation, and aviation. → See also page 2 DOHA: Water consumption per cap- dependent on desalinated water. AFP ita by expatriates is seven to eight Its use is 54 percent of total water times less than that of Qataris. use in the country. Official estimates for 2015 show Some 36 percent of the water BEIRUT: Syria’s main opposition that while an expatriate used an used is ground water but that is grouping recorded 15 violations average of 82.2 cubic metres of water used exclusively in agriculture. The Ministry inspections at construction by government troops and allied in a year, the figure for nationals was remaining 10 percent water usage is forces on Saturday, the first day 600.5 cubic metres. that of treated sewage water which is of a landmark truce, a spokesman Estimates for 2014 put the aver- used in public parks and for ground told reporters yesterday. age consumption for expatriates water injection. sites to ensure compliance with rules “There were 15 violations by at 76.8 cubic metres in the year The study is divided into eight the regime forces on day one of the whereas the figure is 569.7 cubic chapters and makes recommen- ceasefire, including two attacks metres for citizens. It is estimated dations at the end. One of the key The Peninsula as well as those of Law No 2 of 2014 Action will be taken against com- by (Lebanese militant group) that per capita water use would go recommendations is to expand stra- apply in the case of engineers and panies and engineers found violating Hezbollah in Zabadani” west of up to 632.9 cubic metres for Qatari tegic water reserves to meet any engineering consultancies. rules, the Committee said yesterday. Damascus, said Salem Al Meslet, citizens this year while the average emergency that may befall the coun- There is a Committee at the There are 225 local and 37 inter- spokesman for the High Negotia- for expats would rise to 87.9 cubic try in future. DOHA: The Ministry of Municipal- Ministry of Municipality and Environ- national engineering consultancies tions Committee. metres. The study says that water dis- ity and Environment has launched ment which is tasked with licensing registered in the country. They Speaking by telephone from Average per capita water con- tributor Kahramaa (Qatar General a fresh crackdown on construction engineers and engineering consul- employ 11,126 engineers, according Riyadh, Meslet said the HNC would sumption annually has more than Electricity and Water Corporation) sites to ensure that rules and regu- tancies and supervising their work. to the Committee. lodge a formal letter of complaint doubled in the country from 182 expects the demand for water to lations regarding the supervision of The members of the Committee, Registration of engineers with UN special envoy Staffan de cubic metres in 1990 to 400 cubic double between 2011 and 2020, from building work by specialist engineers many of whom have judicial pow- employed with the consultancies has Mistura, UN chief Ban Ki-moon metres in 2012. It was 230 cubic 1.1 million cubic metres a day to 2.1 are being followed. ers, have begun making field visits begun. Their degrees and certificates and the foreign ministers of the metres in 2000. million cubic metres. Construction companies and to construction sites. must be authenticated by the Ministry International Syria Support Group. The population has, on the other As a result, Kahramaa wants contractors and the engineering Construction companies and con- of Education and Higher Education. The deal came into effect on Sat- hand, risen by an average 4.7 percent water desalination capacity raised to consultancies they have hired to tractors and their consultancies must After that, an engineer must take urday, with battle zones across the annually between 2000 and 2012. 95 million gallons per day this year supervise the design and building make sure that a specialist engineer a test at the Committee. country going largely quiet despite These figures have been released by from 71 million gallons a day in 2011. work must comply with laws. is present at a construction site during If the engineer fails, he would be some accusations of breaches. the Permanent Population Commit- Provisions of Law Number 19 of work. All engineers must be approved allowed three more attempts at the tee and accessed through various → Continued on page 6 2015 and its executive regulations by the Committee. test, said the Committee. → See also page 8 Hillary has easy Desperate refugees Qatar Development Bank ride towards Super Tuesday to start rating SMEs AFP By Satish Kanady At QDB, we aim through this programme at The Peninsula helping Qatari young entrepreneurs make the most of this opportunity, and help them COLUMBIA: Donald Trump market their products in the local market.” and his rivals brawled on for the Explaining the benefits to the compa- Republican presidential nomina- DOHA: Qatar Development Bank (QDB), nies that get an entry to the QDB’s ranking tion yesterday as Hillary Clinton a government-owned agency commit- list, Al Khalifa said it will help them get easy sailed towards “Super Tuesday,” ted to developing investments within local access to credit facilities. The ranking will her White House hopes lifted by industries, yesterday announced a rank- also lend greater credibility to products of a blow-out win in South Carolina. ing programme for SMEs. The Qatari SMEs the companies in both domestic and inter- With just two days to go before which get an entry to the QDB’s rating list national markets. the biggest showdown yet in the US will be better positioned to compete in inter- The programme will become a plat- presidential race, Clinton gained national and local markets. form for SMEs to showcase their products crucial momentum in the race for Announcing the launch of the “SME and help entrepreneurs run their busi- the Democratic nomination after Ranking Programme”, Abdulaziz bin Nasser nesses. The programme will also recognise crushing Bernie Sanders 74.5 to Al Khalifa, CEO of QDB, said: “QDB has best-performing SMEs based on clear and 28 percent. “We got decimated,” always been at the forefront when creat- transparent criteria, and motivating those Sanders conceded in an inter- Syrian and Iraqi refugees trapped at the Greek-Macedonian border stop a train to demand ing new methods to provide support to the who can improve their productivity and view on ABC’s This Week show, the opening of the borders yesterday. → See also page 16 SME sector, a main component of diversi- performance. acknowledging that the outpour- fying the local economy. This is part of our ing of African American support realisation of Qatar’s National Vision 2030. → Continued on page 3 for Clinton exposed a costly weak- ness in his campaign. Among Republicans, Trump’s trailing rivals tried to raise doubts among voters about his ability to Medicine vending machines at Women’s Hospital to start next month beat Clinton in November. Senator Ted Cruz suggested in a TV show that Mafia dealings By Sidi Mohamed are likely to begin operating after a launched two months ago. self-service kiosks, only Qatari expatriates. During the experiment, could be hiding in Trump’s tax The Peninsula month. In remarks to this newspaper, patients would be able to access however, only medicines prescribed returns, which the billionaire real The kiosks are currently function- the pharmacist said yesterday he medicines, thus doing away with the by a doctor of the hospital for emer- estate developer has so far resisted ing on an experimental basis. expected the kiosks to be operational need to wait in a queue at the hospi- gency cases are available through the releasing. DOHA: Automated self-service kiosks According to a pharmacist at the after a month as the experiment has tal pharmacy. kiosks. that would vend prescription med- Women’s Hospital, the pilot project been successful.