The decision to this affect was taken during a weekly Cabinet meeting chaired by His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa chaired at Gudaibiya Palace in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier.
After reviewing a memorandum by the State Minister for Follow-up Affairs, the council approved the adoption of unified national benchmarks to measure the key performance indicators of government institutions, support decision-making and boost competitiveness in five main areas: the national economy, welfare, lifetime education, knowledge-based economy and sustainability of natural resources.
HRH the Prime Minister hailed the Bahraini women’s achievements in the prosperous era of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and the government’s efforts to support and further empower them in order to help them play their effective role in the society.
The cabinet launched a project to revamp 10 old building compounds in Isa Town, Umm Al Hasam, Busaiteen, Sanabis and Hidd, re-build them with modern facades and out outfit them with comprehensive services.
The facelift project will be implemented in three phases which will start in the third quarter of this year and finish in 2018. The multi-storey building zone in bloc 813 in Isa Town will be the first to benefit from the development project that will provide 4000 new flats instead of the existing 1900 ones. Applications for flat ownership have topped 4000 so far.
After reviewing a memorandum by the Housing Minister in this regard, the ministerial council tasked the Housing Ministry to embark on the implementation of the project and make the necessary arrangements for dwelled buildings.
The cabinet discussed the government’s infrastructure projects, including development of the sewerage and road networks. The council was updated on the tenders awarded in the first quarter of 2013 which topped 21 worth BD 14.5 million, in addition to 16 tenders at an estimated value of around BD 5.7 million.
The cabinet directed to ensure high quality educational output of private schools and instructed the Education Ministry to closely monitor them and take the necessary measures to follow up on their performance and provide them with the needed technical and training assistance.
Within this context, the council approved the reports issued by the National Authority for Qualifications and Quality Assurance for Education and Training (NAQQAET). The reports have shown a great improvement in the public schools’ performance.
The cabinet instructed to go ahead with the government employment programmes which aim to keep the employment rate at its lowest level. In this context, the ministerial council was updated about the results of the employment and training programmes during the first quarter of 2013.
The council approved an agreement to provide services between the Higher Education Council and the British Accreditation Council in order to work out academic accreditation criteria for high education institutions in Bahrain. The move aims to carry out quality criteria in higher education in conformity with international standards.
The cabinet urged cooperation between ministries and government bodies and the Information Affairs Authority (IAA) to ensure appropriate media coverage of events and activities hosted by Bahrain.