Bahrain’s public debt strategy remains closely tied to fiscal realities, with borrowing driven primarily by budget deficits, an official has said.
Finance and National Economy Ministry Under-Secretary Yousif Al Humood said whenever a deficit arises during the preparation of the general budget, ‘borrowing becomes a necessary financing tool’.
He clarified that certain borrowings by public institutions are treated separately under constitutional provisions.
“Paragraph (b) of Article 108 of the Constitution allows public institutions to borrow against their own assets without those loans being counted as part of government debt,” he explained.
Mr Al Humood stressed the ministry’s continued commitment to ensuring spending remains within approved allocations.
“We consistently guide and urge government entities to review their financial obligations periodically,” he said. “The objective is clear: expenditure must remain within the limits of approved appropriations and not be exceeded.”
The ministry has reinforced oversight mechanisms to monitor recurring budget commitments and prevent overruns, while maintaining compliance with the General Budget Law.
Mr Al Humood revealed that Bapco Energies had settled all outstanding royalties owed to the State for the fiscal years 2023 and 2024 during 2025.
“These payments will be reflected in the 2025 final accounts,” he said. “We remain fully committed to monitoring outstanding revenues and ensuring they are deposited into the public treasury.”
The Finance and National Economy Ministry also reported a revenue decline of approximately BD200 million in 2024, with total revenues standing at around BD1.8 billion compared with roughly BD2bn in 2023.
“This decrease is primarily attributed to lower global oil and gas prices and reduced production at the Abu Safah oil field due to maintenance works,” Mr Al Humood noted, adding that some revenue streams did record growth despite the overall drop.
On internal governance, the under-secretary said the ministry had resumed the inventory of fixed assets in line with the Unified Financial Manual and was enhancing systemic oversight procedures.
He highlighted progress in upgrading information systems strategies, noting that many planned improvements had already been implemented, with the remainder in their final stages awaiting senior management approval.
Specialised teams have been formed to follow up on performance measurement indicators, with the first phase of recommendations set to begin in the first quarter of 2026 and the second phase targeted for completion by early 2027.
“A comprehensive training programme has also been prepared and will be launched soon to support these reforms,” he added.
Mr Al Humood said the ministry was reviewing and unifying its register of information technology assets, with completion expected by the first quarter of 2026. A procedural guide covering maintenance, replacement and disposal of IT assets is also under development.
In cybersecurity, the ministry is conducting vulnerability assessments on all IT assets through a central system supervised by the National Cybersecurity Centre, while also engaging a specialised company to carry out penetration testing.
“This will allow us to identify vulnerabilities and strengthen system security,” Mr Al Humood said, with implementation expected by the second quarter of 2026.
A Business Continuity Committee has also been established to safeguard operations during emergencies. In addition, approvals have been secured to host the ministry’s official website on two servers, enhancing operational resilience and availability, with completion scheduled for early 2026.
“Our focus is on fiscal sustainability, stronger oversight and resilient systems,” Mr Al Humood told MPs. “We are working methodically to reinforce governance while supporting economic stability.”
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