Page 156 - Histories of City and State in the Persian Gulf_Neat

136 Histories of City and State in the Persian Gulf

use. 55 After the collapse of pearling some merchant families such as the al-

‘Urayyads, Ibn Rajabs, al-Mudayfa‘s and Bushehris lived off their invest-

ments in urban real estate, often using revenue from these properties to

launch new enterprises. The al-Mudayfa‘s, for instance, moved into gen-

eral trade, started to import textiles and set up a jewellery shop, initially to

market unsold pearl stocks. Councillors maximised the benefits of tax-

ation by enforcing collections from tenants rather than from landlords. In

the dire economic climate of the late 1920s and early 1930s, house taxes

dominated the agenda of the meetings of the municipal council and
provoked heated discussions between Belgrave and some members of

the majlis. At the height of the crisis in 1932, the advisor briefly succeeded

in enforcing collections from landlords as a result of the devastating effects
of the crisis on artisans, shopkeepers and labourers, which represented the
majority of Manama’s tenant population. But after only ten months, tax
officials were instructed by the municipal secretary to revert to tenants
following the bitter opposition of the majority of the councillors who were
large property owners. 56
By imposing a tight control over the fiscal policies of the baladiyyah,
councillors were also able to assuage the sensibilities of residents and to
guarantee for themselves steady profits from rents. For instance, they
tended to keep house taxes low irrespective of the value of real estate.
Belgrave was still pressing for higher house taxes after the end of World
War II when the prices of housing and land started to grow exponentially
as a result of a construction boom. In order to make up for the deficit of
the municipal treasury, the majlis continued to appeal to the government
for more subsidies; demands ranged from a direct share in oil income to
new entitlements from customs duties. 57
The continuous tension between the personal interests of the old nota-
bles turned councillors and their official duties shaped the outlook of
municipal government in the residential areas. For more than two
55
In 1935 out of 3,186 properties for residential use registered in the municipal ledgers only
fifty-six belonged to the Government. The rest were mainly private property. There is
no evidence of the Al Khalifah owning any houses. Belgrave to Political Agent Bahrain,
21 June 1935, R/15/2/1922 IOR.
56
R/15/2/1922 IOR: Belgrave to Political Agent Bahrain, 21 June 1935; ‘House tax in the
Municipalities of Manama and Muharraq’, note on a conversation between the Political
Agent Bahrain, Shaykh ‘Abdallah ibn ‘Isa Al Khalifah, Belgrave and Muhammad Salih
al-Shutur (Secretary of the Municipality), 18 July 1935; minutes by Political Agent
Bahrain, 22 May 1935; MMBM, 13 Safar 1354/16 May 1935.
57
Report by Political Agent Bahrain, 29 June 1929, R/15/2/127 IOR; MMBM, 18 Dhu
al-Qa‘dah 1369/1 September 1950, R/15/2/1932 IOR. R/15/2/1218 IOR: Secretary of
Manama Municipality to Political Agent Bahrain, n. 247/5 of 1347; MMBM, 29
Muharram 1347/1 April 1938. ‘Annual Report for the Year 1368’ in The Bahrain
Government Annual Reports, 1924–1970, vol. IV, p. 29.