“Speed, accuracy, quality and adherence to time limits should be the distinctive features of government projects included in the state budget for 2011 and 2012, approved by the National Assembly and due to be submitted to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa,” His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa stressed on Sunday, noting that implementation indices should be used in order to remove any obstacles.
Chairing the Cabinet regular weekly meeting at the Gudaibiya Palace, HRH Premier instructed all ministers to start implementing the government projects without delay, stressing that those projects aiming to improve the quality of the services provided for the citizens, as well as the infrastructure and service ones, should be given top priority.
HRH Premier explained that BD360 million would be spent on housing, BD660 million on education, BD534 million on health care, BD68 million on roads and BD45.5 million on the sanitation sector.
The Cabinet also praised allocating BD125 million for supporting low-income families and raising the assets of the Social Insurance Fund from BD28.8 million to BD52 million, reflecting the social aspect of emphasized in the budget, as a way to extend the umbrella of social insurance in the kingdom.
The Cabinet also hailed the positive dialogue that prevailed between the legislative and the Executive powers during the discussion of the 2011-2012 state budget, lauding the constructive cooperation between the two sides during the first session of the third legislative term.
After that, the Cabinet decided to wave off the 5% fee levied on hotel services from July 1, 2011 to September 1, 2011, as part of the efforts being exerted to boost the tourism sector in the Kingdom.
The Cabinet also decided to fly the GCC flag, along with the Bahraini one, at all the outlets of the kingdom and all places related to the joint GCC action, starting from Wednesday, May 25, 2011, as recommended during the 31st GCC Summit.
The Cabinet also decided to develop the scrap area, next to ALBA, and relocate it temporarily to the Hufaira until a new recycling factory is set up, tasking the Interior and the Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning ministries to coordinate in this regard.
The Cabinet was also updated on the balanced sheet of the Future Generations Reserve Fund for the fiscal year 2010, which reached $223.4 million, and referred to the parliament.
The results of the 38th Arab Labour conference, held in Cairo between May 15 and 22, as well as the GCC Labour Ministers’ meeting held on its sidelines, were also reviewed.
The Cabinet lauded the Arab delegations’ support for Bahrain.
It also praised GCC Labour Ministers’ backing of HRH Premier’s decision to set up a high-level committee to study the cases of the workers dismissed recently.