King restructures Health Ministry, forms RERA

Manama : His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa yesterday issued Royal Decrees restructuring the Ministry of Health and establishing the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).

According to the Royal Decree 67/2017, the Health Minister shall be responsible for the Assistant Undersecretary for Primary Health, Assistant Undersecretary for Hospitals and the Directorate of Communication. The undersecretary shall oversee the Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health and Assistant Undersecretary for Human Resources and Services.

The Public Health and Health Promotion directorates will report to Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health, while the Human Resources, Financial Resources, Information and Planning, as well as the Supportive Services directorates shall report to the Assistant Undersecretary for Hospitals.

Decree 5/1997 on reforming the Health Ministry was abrogated.

HM the King also made new appointments. His Majesty named Dr. Waleed Khalifa Yussef Al-Manae as Undersecretary at the Health Ministry, Dr. Mohammed Amin Yussef Al-Awadhi as Assistant Undersecretary for Hospitals, Dr. Manel Alawi Sayed Amin Al-Alawi as Assistant Undersecretary for Primary Health, Dr. Mariam Ibrahim Al-Hajiri as Assistant Undersecretary for Public Health and Fatima Ahmed Abdulwahid as Assistant Undersecretary for Resources and Services.

The Minister of Health Shall implement royal decrees (67 and 68 for this year) which take immediate effect and will be published in the Official Gazette.

Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA)

According to royal decree 70/2017, Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Abdulla Al Khalifa was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority with the rank of Undersecretary.

RERA shall be in charge of all duties and terms of reference related to regulating the real estate market in the Kingdom and maintaining the interests of all stakeholders, as stipulated by Law 27/2017 on the issuance of the Real Estate Regulatory Law.

RERA will have a Board of Directors, chaired by the Survey and Land Registration Bureau President (SLRB).

Board members include the Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, RERA’s Chief Executive Officer, SLRB’s Land Registration Director-General, and SLRB’s Survey Director-General. 

The panel also includes representatives from the Economic Development Board (EDB), the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), the Bahrain Property Development Association, the Bahrain Real Estate Association and the private real estate sector as members for a four-year term.

The First Deputy Prime Minister shall implement the royal decrees (69 and 70/2017), which take immediate effect and will be published in the Official Gazette.

HM the King also issued Royal Decree 71 and 72 for this year, re-appointing Dr Jawaher Shaheen Al Mudhahki as Chief Executive Officer of the Education and Training Quality Authority (BQA), and Ausamah Abdulla Al-Absi as Chief Executive Officer of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA).