Law for mps pension hike gets consensus

Manama 

Majority of parliamentarians have agreed yesterday to a law proposal that increases their pensions to exceed BD4,000.

This was announced yesterday during the council’s weekly meeting, which was chaired by the Parliament Speaker Ahmed bin Ibrahim Al Mulla and was attended by Finance Minister Shaikh Ahmed bin Mohammed Al Khalifa and Shura Council and Parliament Affairs State Minister Ghanim Al Buainain.

Ahead of the session, the topic was widely discussed among local columnists, bloggers and social networks’ users, who accused the MPs of “seeking their own benefits and ignoring the needs of the people.”

The lawmakers rejected such accusations, stating that the “proposal was submitted by Shura Council, not us.”

The proposal, which was earlier referred to the council’s Services Committee, aimed at amending Law 32 of 2009 that regulates pensions of parliamentarians, Shura Council members and municipal councilors.

The committee agreed to the proposal and referred it for further discussion before the rest of the council members.

In the proposal, it was endorsed the original law by stating that “each MP, Shura Council member or municipal councilor, who completed four years in his/her position, is entitled of 50 per cent of the original salary every month for the next 25 years.”

However, the proposal eliminated an article that was mentioned in the original law, which specified that the pensions shouldn’t exceed BD4,000.

Several legislators clarified that the proposal would mostly benefit those who were elected in parliament’s by-elections in 2011.

Justifying the proposal, MP Abdulla Binhuwail said, “Several former MPs are living in tough financial conditions, as many of them left their jobs to take up the responsibility of representing the people of Bahrain, especially during the sad events of 2011, when MPs representing the opposition withdrew from the council, in a bid to strip it off its legitimacy.”

“We must appreciate the efforts of such heroes and ensure their financial stability,” Binhuwail added.

During the session, MPs’ opinions varied between supporters, who insisted on “preserving the rights of MPs,” while others opposed to it due to the current deficit in the state budget.

Anyhow, the last word was for the majority, who voted for the proposal.