A SURPLUS of BD10 million left over from the National Assembly’s budget over the years should be allocated towards supporting the pension fund, according to an outspoken MP.
Zainab Abdulameer said that it was the national duty of Shura Council and Parliament members to step in and support the retirement fund.
She urged Parliament’s general secretariat office to transfer the BD10m towards restoring the balance of the vital fund, which, she claimed, “is suffering”.
“The BD10m is a result of savings and controlled spending over the year,” said Ms Abdulameer.
“The money has been passed down from previous speakers and has reached Parliament Speaker Fouzia Zainal who saved more because of reduced MP trips and other cuts in expenditure.
“The pension fund is in deficit and pensioners have been deprived of their annual three per cent increase.
“Transferring this surplus to the fund will contribute towards providing the necessary liquidity.”
The GDN previously reported that Finance and National Economy Minister Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa revealed that a roadmap to extend the lifespan of Bahrain’s pension fund up to 2086 is now in place.
Shaikh Salman, who is politically responsible for the Social Insurance Organisation (SIO), told MPs that blueprints to extend the fund would breathe new life into it despite earlier studies suggesting that in three years the fund could go bankrupt.
“Suggestions to use this BD10m surplus to build an ivory tower in Juffair for the luxury of members is unacceptable and ridiculous,” added Ms Abdulameer.
“The existing National Assembly complex in Gudaibiya was renovated less than two years ago, so there is absolutely no need for another complex.
“Covid-19 has had a devastating impact on vulnerable sections of society, in addition to rising prices, so it’s shameful to continue discussing luxury while people are suffering.
“MPs must leave their ivory towers and listen to what people of Bahrain need and feel as they are the ones who placed them in Parliament’s dome, instead of putting forward proposals far from the concerns on the street.”
The proposed multi-million dinar National Assembly complex in Juffair has been on hold for several years.
reem@gdn.com.bh
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