Ministers have pledged to adopt plans and programmes to boost accountability and ensure effective management of public funds.
This came as Parliament discussed violations and recommendations in the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 National Audit Office (NAO) reports yesterday.
Parliament and Shura Council Affairs Minister Ghanim Al Buainain said 80 per cent of the violations highlighted by the NAO have been addressed and most of them were related to internal procedures.
“Administrative disciplinary measures are taken over complaints of mismanagement and the Public Prosecution is notified if the allegations are grave enough for a thorough investigation,” he added.
Several senior government officials were deputised by their ministers to appear during the weekly Parliament session, which continued for a marathon nine hours.
The 2021/2022 report that included 14 recommendations was unanimously approved by MPs, while the 2022/2023 report was given a green light by all present except MP Hamad Al Doy.
Mr Buainain added that spending on expatriates working in ministries and government bodies had dropped by 10pc at the end of last year with work on further reductions ongoing.
“There is a clear commitment and follow-up of all observations and recommendations brought up by the NAO or legislators on multiple fields of spending,” he added.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Dr Mohammed Mubarak Juma said 97pc of the budget allocated for his ministry was spent last year.
“We have utilised our budget for manpower with us achieving 86pc Bahrainisation rate in the ministry and public schools, and seeking 90pc this year. We are striving for 100pc,” he said.
“But projects don’t happen overnight and some spending gets divided or carried over to the next year according to the progress of work on new schools and educational facilities.
“We have introduced new programmes and systems to deal with NAO observations and separate teams are working, as 91pc of the observations have been taken into account.”
Dr Juma, who is also Bahrain University board chairman, said all educational programmes in the university were under review to ensure international compliance.
“Disciplinary codes at all schools, including private, are being upgraded to ensure effectiveness and behavioural improvement,” he added.
Works Minister Ibrahim Al Hawaj pointed out that observations against his ministry had dropped from 715 in the 2021/2022 report to 621 in the 2022/2023 report.
“We deal with the toughest task of infrastructure and construction and this involves the availability of budgets, contractors and engineering consultants. We also need to resolve several technical issues,” he said.
“When we work 24/7 on projects, there will be procedural lapses, but nothing serious, and they have been stopped. Does it affect the progress of development, no, everyone sees dedication and there is commitment to work better and faster.”
He said most of the ministry’s employees were Bahrainis trained according to international projects’ management and risk standards.
“We have 254 projects still in progress and 388 were completed last year – all executed by professional Bahraini engineers.
“We have used 90pc of the alloted budget and we are working to resolve the traffic bottlenecks through new massive flyovers, underpasses and new roads and upgrades.”
Municipalities Affairs and Agriculture Minister Wael Al Mubarak said 82pc of the observations against his ministry have been cleared, with work continuing on the rest.
Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments Minister Nawaf Al Maawda said 90pc of the observations against his ministry have also been addressed, with the rest to be cleared shortly.
Government Hospitals chief executive Dr Mariam Al Jalahma said no outbreak of any contagious or transmissible diseases have been reported in any public medical facility across the country.
“The maximum wait for medical assistance in government hospitals is less than 24 hours, while the waiting list per doctor is less than six patients during work time,” she said.
“The time for surgeries will be drastically shortened, but there is pressure on eye, orthopaedic and ENT departments.”
Finance and National Economy Ministry assistant under-secretary for financial operations Mubarak Mattar said compliance with all observations had now reached 84pc – down from 81pc as initially announced by the NAO.
Meanwhile, Mr Al Doy was involved in a war of words with NAO assistant under-secretary for administrative monitoring Dr Isa Al Nuaimi over claims that several violations were being deliberately ignored to show the government in a positive light.
“Where are corrupt officials, they are in Switzerland or the UK, spending stolen public money while the NAO punishes weak civil servants who have no actual say,” alleged Mr Al Doy.
Dr Al Nuaimi said international practices were being followed to ensure accountability and no-one would be let off the hook, including Parliament and the Shura Council. “A full team is working to address all violations,” Dr Al Nuaimi added. “We are independent and are not dictated by anyone.”
Tough action has been urged against officials at ministries, government bodies and state-owned companies who have been accused of squandering public money. MPs are also calling for administrative or legal measures to ensure ‘squandered’ government finances.
mohammed@gdnmedia.bh
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