HRH Premier chairs regular weekly Cabinet session

Manama, Apr. 20 (BNA): His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa chaired the regular weekly Cabinet session, attended by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier. King, Premier, Crown Prince congratulated on Ramadan The cabinet extended deepest congratulations to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, HRH the Prime Minister and HRH the Crown Prince, on the holy month of Ramadan, praying to Allah the Almighty to bless them with abundant health and continuous success. It also extended congratulations to the people of Bahrain on the same occasion, wishing Bahrain, as well as the Arab and Islamic nations further progress, prosperity and peace, Cabinet Secretary-General, Dr. Yasser bin Isa Al-Nasser, said in a statement following the session which was held remotely. Premier orders studying postponement of citizens’ dues to government HRH Premier requested the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance to study consider the postponement of the collection of some citizens’ dues to the government, and to submit a report on the move’s financial impacts, in addition to the implementation mechanism. Economic stimulus package to cover taxi drivers The Prime Minister ordered to include taxi drivers in the beneficiaries of the government economic stimulus package in order to support their living needs amid the exceptional circumstances resulting from the outbreak of the novel coronavirus pandemic. HRH Premier requested the Ministry of Finance and National Economy to coordinate with the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications, and take the necessary procedures. Prime Minister: Government keen on citizens’ needs HRH Premier affirmed that upon directives of HM the King, the government is keen on directing all its ministries and departments to adopt measures that facilitate the citizens’ living matters and meet their service needs, stressing that the government will continue this approach despite all challenges. Operational expenses to be slashed by 30%; some projects to be rescheduled The Cabinet decided to reduce the operational expenses budget for ministries and government by 30% unless the public interests require otherwise. It also agreed to reschedule a number of construction and consulting projects in order to absorb the emergency expenses devoted to limiting the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), within the ceiling of the general expenses budget for the fiscal year 2020, as recommended by the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs and Fiscal Balance in the memorandum presented by Deputy Premier and the committee chairman. On the other hand, the session was informed, through a memorandum submitted by the Minister of Finance and National Economy, on the amounts spent from the emergency funds allocated by the Cabinet for dealing with the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic so far. This is in line with Article 11 of the Decree-Law on the Budget which stipulates that the Minister shall provide a detailed report to the Cabinet on the emergency funds one month after their spending. Two civil service-related draft edicts endorsed The session approved two draft edicts related to the civil service. The first is on amending the provisions of the executive regulation of the Civil Service Law with the aim of organising the promotion of employees who are subject to salary deduction and the granting of special leave without pay. It also regulates the extension of service for employees aged 60, and high-ranking ones. It also includes amending the schedule of violations and penalties. The second bill amends the regulation for determining salaries, job benefits and their entitlement terms. It organises the payment of the annual periodic allowance to the employees who have been referred to the investigation until the end of their accountability procedures. The two bills were approved based on the recommendation submitted by the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs, and highlighted in the memorandum presented by Deputy Premier and panel chairman. Corporate-like sports clubs to be established The session discussed allowing the establishment of corporate-like sports clubs, in accordance with the provisions of the Commercial Companies Law, and decided to refer a draft-law on amending Law of Associations, Social and Cultural Clubs, Special Committees Working in the Field of Youth and Sports and Private Institutions to the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs, as outlined in the memorandum presented by the Youth and Sports Affairs Minister. National chemical weapons committee’s report approved The session approved the report of the National Committee on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons, based on the recommendation of the Ministerial Committee for Legal and Legislative Affairs, which was presented by Deputy Prime Minister and committee chairman. Parliamentary proposals 1. The cabinet approved a proposal submitted by the Council of Representatives to study the cases of individuals and families subject to social security with overdue electricity bills before the disconnection of the services. The aim is to ensure the continued electricity services to social insurance beneficiaries’ cases who are unable to pay their bills. 2. The session endorsed another parliamentary proposal on allocating a land lot in the northern area to be a market and an auction facility for livestock keepers. 3. The cabinet endorsed the government’s reply to a proposal on building multi-storey parks at services ministries. 4. The session approved the government's response to a proposal on making practical training at mosques or endowments a mandatory requirement for graduation from religious institutes. Ministerial reports 1. The cabinet took note, through a report submitted by the Minister of Oil, about the 9th and 10th extraordinary ministerial meetings of OPEC and Non-OPEC countries (OPEC +), held remotely on April 9 and 12. 2. The session was also informed, through a report submitted by the Industry, Commerce and Tourism Minister on two extraordinary virtual meetings of the ministers of commerce of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, held on April 2 and 16.