His Royal Highness noted the progress made so far in identifying violations and acts of public funds misuse, and underscored the importance of taking appropriate steps against any wastage of public funds to complement the principles of transparency and accountability, which are key pillars of His Majesty King Hamad’s reform and development programme.
The Executive Committee reviewed the report provided by the State Ministry for Follow up Affairs, which identified the cases of non-compliance highlighted by the NAO, under directives from the Committee, in order to decide on appropriate steps and measures.
The report from the Ministry covered all 462 cases outlined by the NAO and identified three different courses of action:
1: 20 cases of non-compliance to be transferred to the Anti-corruption and Economic and Electronic Security General Directorate at Ministry of Interior.
2: 38 violations highlighted in the report to be transferred to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Legal Affairs in order to form internal committees responsible for investigation inquiries.
3: 404 procedural violations to be transferred to the Ministry of Follow up Affairs in order to take the appropriate steps and measures in close coordination with other government entities
The 20 cases of non-compliance include eight cases related to the Ministry of Municipality and Urban Planning, seven cases related to the Bahrain Aluminum Company (Alba), one case related to the Bahrain Flour Mills Company B.S.C, one case related to the Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution (BCDR-AAA), one case related to the Bahrain Petroleum Company B.S.C, one case related to the Ministry of Works, and one case related to the Ministry of Housing. These cases will be reviewed by the Anti-corruption and Economic and Electronic Security General Directorate at the Ministry of Interior before being transferred to the Public Prosecutor.
The meeting also looked at the steps and measures identified by the relevant entities and developing a timeframe for implementation.
His Royal Highness praised all government entities, as well as the Executive Committee and the working group, for working in close coordination as per the instructions of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister.
His Royal Highness then underscored the commitment of the Executive Committee and the working group to addressing all the issues and violations raised in the NAC report with transparency and efficiency.