Government Rejects Proposed Public Budget Law Amendment

TDT | Manama
Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

The government has rejected a proposed amendment to Article 10 of Public Budget Law No. 39 of 2002, which was put forward by the Council of Representatives and endorsed by the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee.

The amendment aimed to incorporate all revenues of public entities and institutions, including those managed and invested by the Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company (Mumtalakat), into the general budget. The goal was to enhance transparency and accountability by facilitating financial monitoring and ensuring alignment with budgetary objectives.

However, the government argues that the proposed amendment is redundant, as existing financial regulations already ensure transparency. Additionally, it contends that the amendment would be detrimental to the general budget and contradict the provisions of Law No. 39 of 2002.

The government’s statement highlighted concerns that the amendment conflates the management of the general budget with asset and liquidity management. It also warned that the change could undermine the autonomy and operational independence of public entities and state-owned companies, potentially hindering their effectiveness.

Further, the government pointed to significant legal and technical challenges in applying the amendment uniformly across all state-owned or partially state-owned companies, given their diverse legal structures.

Mumtalakat echoed these concerns, stating that the amendment could damage its reputation by restricting its board’s decision-making authority and compromising its legal autonomy.