The Cabinet weekly meeting presided over by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, reviewed the financial and economic situation in the kingdom and decided that the government work plan should include special funds to increase support for retirees and needy families.
HRH Premier extended sincere thanks and appreciation to the citizens and expatriates for the genuine feelings they expressed as they celebrated his return home following a private visit abroad, affirming that such love and loyalty-filled feelings will increase his determination to exert more efforts in the service of the kingdom and its dear citizens.
HRH Prime Minister instructed the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Urban Planning to expedite the reconstruction and repairing of 45 dilapidated houses in Muharraq, in coordination with the Muharraq Municipal Council.
The Premier also directed the High Education Council to speed up the accreditation of the graduation certificates of the private universities which meet the requirements so as to enable the graduates to get them as soon as possible.
It discussed ways of addressing the fiscal imbalances, including the activation of programmes to reduce the public debt and restructuring of the subsidization system in order to ensure that it reaches only those who deserve it.
The cabinet decided to form a high-level committee to study ways of rationalizing spending, adjusting government expenditures and addressing fiscal imbalances in order to limit the public debt and reduce it.
On employment, the Cabinet discussed launching a BD 35 million-project to rehabilitate and employ 10000 Bahraini graduates and job-seekers among the holders of other certificates.
4000 university graduates, 2000 diploma holders and 4000 Secondary Education Certificate holders will benefit from the scheme.
The cabinet tasked the Ministerial Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs to study the financing of the project by the Labour Ministry and the Labour Fund (Tamkeen), and coordinate with the relevant sides and specialised committees to come up with radical solutions to bridge the gap between the educational output and the requirements of the labour market so as to ensure that all educational specialties are always required.
On telecommunications, the Cabinet asserted the need to limit communications masts to the licensed ones only, with the possibility of using one mast by more than one communications firm, tasking the Communications Affairs Ministry to address the issue of un-authorised masts and coordinate with the Interior Ministry and other concerned sides on setting up new masts.
The cabinet also discussed a memo submitted by the State Minister for Communications Affairs on the organisation of radio communication masts, asserting that the Ministry of State for Communications Affairs will be responsible for licensing those masts in cooperation with the ministries of Interior and Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) and representatives of the relevant state departments.
The cabinet also affirmed the need to continue developing and strengthening the kingdom’s relations with friendly countries, citing the fruitful outcome of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s visit to Russia in December, 2008.
In this regard, the cabinet reviewed a memo submitted by the Foreign Affairs Minister on enhancing Bahraini-Russian relations through expanding the areas of bilateral cooperation.
On energy, the Cabinet approved the kingdom’s accession to the World Energy Council and tasked the Minister of State for Electricity and Water to coordinate with the coordinate with the relevant sides in order to take the necessary procedures.
The cabinet discussed a new draft law that will replace the current Sea Law stipulated by Law 32 for 1982 and keep abreast of the latest developments regarding technology, trade and marine transport, as well as the laws, legislations and conventions and protocols issued by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) concerning safety and protection of the environment.
The cabinet also approval proposals submitted by the Representatives Council to conduct a comprehensive maintenance of the premises of the Muharraq-based Bahrain Sports Club, build a mosque named “Faisal bin Hamad” in Hamad Town, honour long-serving Imams and Muazzens, assign a specialised company to monitor the dilapidated houses project in the five governorates and develop a strategy for GCC Family Tourism that is compatible with religious precepts, social values and genuine Bahraini traditions.