Prime Minister calls for diversification of revenue sources

Manama : His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa yesterday gave directives to ensure that the basic salary expenses, the annual increment paid to the citizens, the government’s support to Bahrainis who most need government subsidies, and the provision for basic services are not affected in the fiscal 2018 budget.

The Prime Minister also issued instructions to carry on initiatives to diversify sources of income, and to reduce operational expenses in all ministries.

Focus on diversification  

Chairing the weekly Cabinet session, HRH the Prime Minister has directed the ministries and government departments – each in their capacity - to spare no effort to enhance economic growth and diversify its revenue sources.

He also requested them to adopt general policies that achieve a balance between revenues and expenses in the General State Budget during three budget cycles.

Ministries and state departments were also instructed to be committed to the budgets allocated to them, and not to make any financial commitments that exceed their approved budgets.

The session also approved amending some supplementary legislation to the draft budget law concerning the issuance of development bonds and the Future Generations Fund.

After that, the Cabinet tasked the Executive Committee with studying the implementation mechanisms of the Unified Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Excise Tax and Unified GCC Value Added Tax (VAT) treaties.

HM’s visits hailed 

HRH Prime Minister lauded His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s visit to Saudi Arabia, and his talks with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, as well as his visit to Egypt and his talks with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi.

The two Royal visits affirmed the existing joint coordination and keenness on exchanging opinions and consulting on various issues, especially those related to the region’s security and stability, HRH Premier said while chairing the regular weekly Cabinet session.

HRH Premier also gave directives to address the needs of Duraz and its neighbouring villages within the executive list of the government’s projects and its development programmes, and requested the Ministerial Committee for Urbanisation and Infrastructure to follow up on the matter, a post-session statement by the Cabinet Secretary-General, Dr. Yasser bin Isa Al-Nasser, said.

Cabinet decisions

The Cabinet endorsed a project to improve the quality of treated water discharged in the Tubli Bay using advanced technology that allows self-cleaning of the bay, and contributes to reducing the odours emitting from gases.

The session approved the recommendation of the Ministerial Committee for Financial Affairs and Rationalising Expenditure on the financing of the project.

The Cabinet was also informed, through a memorandum submitted by the Electricity and Water Affairs Minister on the Electricity and Water Affairs (EWA)’s preparations to face the requirements of summer, 2017, regarding the production, transmission and distribution of electricity and water.

The session also took note of the recently-inaugurated power transmission stations and ground cables to increase of reliability and efficiency of the electricity network, improve the quality of the services delivered to customers and be able to deal with power cuts immediately.

HRH the Prime Minister has commended the efforts exerted by the Electricity and Water Affairs Minister and the staff of both Electricity and Water Affairs Ministry and the Electricity and Water Affairs Authority.