(Manama) – His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa has extended warmest congratulations to His Majesty King Ahmad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Supreme Commander, on the 20th anniversary of the National Guard, noting that it has become an effective institution in the kingdom’s security system.
The Prime Minister lauded the role of the National Guard’s Commander and staff in strengthening the pillars of security and stability and preserving hard-won national gains, adding that it represents a military depth and a security protective shield for other national establishments which are entrusted with protecting the nation’s security, stability and territorial integrity.
The Premier made the statements while chairing 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 Prime Minister.
HRH Premier stressed the importance of effective management in upgrading the level of services delivered by various government sectors, calling upon public departments to rely on competencies and experts, and to tighten their internal control to avoid negligence and shortcomings.
The Premier stressed that it is not acceptable that negligence affects the quality of the sectors, services and the achievements attained by the government in every field, Cabinet Secretary General, Dr. Yasser Issa Al Nasser said in a statement following the session, held at the Gudaibiya Palace today.
In a related context, HRH Premier directed to deal with administrative negligence and medical errors firmly through investigating them, giving instructions to launch a transparent and impartial probe into the case of the recent death of two children, and to take deterrent and fair measures if negligence is proved.
The Prime Minister requested the Minister of Health to submit an urgent report on the level and quality of the care and treatment provided by the public medical facilities. The report should also include the necessary suggestions on ways to develop the public health institutions and rectify the shortcomings, if any.
No decline in the advanced level of the medical and treatment services provided by the government will ever be accepted, and the citizens have to enjoy the best health services, whether at government-funded or private hospitals, he said.
HRH Premier directed all ministries and government departments to cooperate closely with the Information Affairs Ministry regarding the issues raised by the citizens through various media to ensure that the official media discourse responds promptly to public issues and plays its enlightening role.
HRH the Prime Minister issued instructions to disburse compensation for the properties acquired for public interests, as part of the Premier’s follow-up on the procedures taken by the Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning regarding the disbursement of the compensation to the eligible beneficiaries for the acquisitions that took place prior to the issuance of the Cabinet’s resolution in August on regulating the acquisition steps and the need to ensure available compensation funds.
Reviewing the memoranda on its agenda, the session approved, based on a recommendation by the Executive Committee, chaired by HRH the Crown Prince, the launch of a system that applies to licenses issued to companies and institutions to engage in activities related to taxis and on-call taxis.
According to the system, highlighted in the memorandum presented by the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, licenses to taxi and on-call taxi companies and institutions should be done through bidding.
The system, which does not apply to individuals, also determines the conditions and specifications of the licensed vehicles used by companies or institutions.
The Cabinet referred to the Executive Committee a proposal submitted by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism pertaining to the licensing to companies with foreign capitals which are bound by contracts with government parties or agencies, or to companies that are implementing strategic projects and require the presence of a Bahraini partner in them.
HRH the Prime Minister directed to go ahead with efforts to create encouraging, decent and suitable employment opportunities for Bahraini job-seekers, stressing that they should remain the first choice in the employment process.
Commenting on a report on the labour market’s indicators in the third quarter of 2016, highlighted in the memorandum presented by the Minister of Labour and Social Development, the session expressed satisfaction with the ability of the national economy to attract new investments.
The report presented by the minister indicated that the overall size of the labour force in Bahrain has risen to 770,000, making an annual increase of 7.3%.
Statistics also showed a steady increase in the salaries and wages, with their average going up by 2.6 percent and by 1.8 percent in the private and public sectors respectively.
