MANAMA: As a result of fiercely contested election, only 30% from the outgoing board members of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) have managed to secure seats for the 29th term of board of directors of the Chamber.
The BCCI members have elected an 18-member board of directors during polls held at Shaikh Isa Culture Centre on Saturday. The results to some extent was a major up setter for the outgoing board among whom many remained hot favourites throughout the election campaign of around two months.
The newly elected board includes Sameer Abdulla Nass, Mohammed Farouq Almoayyed, Basem Mohammed Al Saei, Jameel Yousif Al Ghanna, Aref Ahmed Hijres, Waleed Ebrahim Kanoo, Mohammed Abduljabbar Al Kooheiji, Khalid Bin Rashed Al Zayani, Ahmed Abdulla Bin Hindi, Khalid Mohammed Najibi, Batool Mohammed Dadabhai, Shaikha Hind Bint Salman Al Khalifa, Abdulhussein Khalil Al Dewani, Ahmed Sabah Al Saloom, Sonia Mohammed Janahi, Abdul Hakeen Al Shamri, Ramez Mohammed Al Awadhi, and Waheeb Ahmed Al Khajah.
The highest votes were secured by Sameer Nass and lowest by the 18th-member of the board of directors as per the official notification issued by Jassim Al A’al the head of the BCCI Election’s Committee.
The newly elected board of directors will have to work with the private sector especially in the critical phase of the economic transformation such as implementation of value added tax (VAT) and other structural changes necessitated by the challenging economic climate across the GCC.
The much awaited, increase in the commercial registration fee which in some cases proposed increase of BD900 (from BD100 to BD1000), which also had been echoed during the last few months of the BCCI’s outgoing board would be a test case for the new board that how the BCCI negotiate with the concerned authorities to come up with a solution acceptable to both private sector and the Government.
On achieving the economic competitiveness, the rapidly changing economic climate with mounting pressure on the private sector to reposition itself as an engine of growth of the economy also to achieve the objectives of the Vision 2030 of the Kingdom of the Bahrain, will be few but important litmus tests for the new board.
The large segment of the Asian traders’ community is keeping hoping that their concerns will be tackled smartly by the BCCI board as a shock-absorber between the private sector and the Government.
The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism congratulated the winners of the 29th session board of the Board Directors of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Minister sent a congratulatory message to the winners of the 29th session board of the Board Directors of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry on their success in achieving the aspiration of the commercial pubic.
The Minister also hosted a luncheon in honour of the new board of directors and affirmed the keen support from the leadership and Government and their boundless support for the business and economic sector in the Kingdom of Bahrain and their keenness to enhance Chamber’s role at the national level.
The Minister stressed that the Chamber would continue to play a major role as a bridge between the commercial and industrial sectors and government bodies.
“The active participation in the elections held on Saturday, 10 of March 2018, is a clear reflection of the Chamber’s interaction with the business and commercial community.”
