Manama: Four ministers have been summoned to appear before a parliamentary committee investigating alleged immoral activities in Bahrain's tourism sector.
The ministers of interior, culture and information, municipality affairs and industry and commerce will on Monday present their views to the five-member committee formed last week by the lower house.
The committee looked into charges of malpractices in some of the country's hotels and furnished flats. The ministers will help the panel define responsibilities for the irregularities.
The labour minister will be summoned at a later stage to discuss the status of the country's tourism inspectors and check for possible irregularities in their employment or duties.
Lawmakers last week refused statements by the culture and information ministry that it was committed to upholding "clean" tourism and to fighting vice.
"We have heard very disturbing reports about what is happening in some of the country's hotels and clubs. We will carry our own investigation and based on the findings, we will call for punitive action against all those who break the law, flout the country's traditions and cause the destruction of families," the lawmakers said.
Bahrain's lower house, dominated by Islamists, has been vigorously campaigning for a crackdown on ‘vice' activities and banning the sale of alcohol.
Their drive gained momentum after a Western men's online magazine dubbed Manama ‘the party oasis of the Middle East' and ranked it eighth among the world's top ten sin cities.
