V L Srinivasan
Manama, Feb 5:
Elected representatives and trade union leaders yesterday welcomed His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s decision to provide additional funds for social welfare and subsidies but said that more needs to be done to meet citizens’ needs.
The MPs said that the inflation allowance should be increased for several families and more funds should be allotted to the housing and infrastructure sectors for the swift completion of various projects.
“We have been asking the government to enhance the budgetary allocation for some time as we promised it to the electorate during the elections. The reports of the government withdrawing subsidies did not go down well with the people. But His Majesty the King’s decision to get involved and stand by his citizens, especially in this situation, is laudable,” MP Abdul Hussain Al Mutghawi said.
Describing the decision as “absolutely good,” female MP Latifa Al Gaoud said that this is what the public and MPs from all political societies were seeking. “Pumping additional money into the budget for the next two years will enable people to share the burden of inflation which is reflected in the increase in the prices of food commodities.”
“This was one of the priority issues for all of us and it is our responsibility to bring people above the poverty line. We hope it will be a win-win situation for all,” she stated.
Chairman of the Parliament’s Finance and Economic Affairs Committee and head of the Al Wefaq bloc in Parliament, Abduljalil Khalil, said that the additional revenues became possible after the committee requested the Oil and Gas Affairs Ministry to increase oil production from an estimated 27,000 barrels per day (BPD) to 40,000 BPD in 2011 and 45,000 BPD in 2012.
“The additional production will fetch around BD130 million and this has been included in the budget. What we are basically doing is increasing our revenue,” he said.
He added that the Housing Ministry’s budget also needs to be increased from BD120 million to BD300 million over the next two years in order to allow for the construction of new projects, besides the renovating of old houses in the Kingdom.
“These issues will be discussed in the next few days with the Finance Ministry for a final decision,” he said.
Another MP from the Al Wefaq bloc, Ali Al Aswad, said that there is a real need for the inflation subsidy to be raised from BD50 to between BD80 and BD100 in order to support the poorest of the poor.
The education, healthcare, housing and infrastructure sectors should also be provided with additional funds, he said.
Secretary General of the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions, S. Salman Jaffar Al Mahfoodh agreed. He explained that although additional funding is a good solution, it will not solve the problem completely.
“The additional money will reduce inflation only in a limited manner,” he explained, adding that the government should increase the wages of private and public sector employees to help them deal with their financial burdens.
He added that the government should also amend the Minimum Wages Act for the benefit of all workers in the Kingdom, including expatriates.
Manama, Feb 5:
Elected representatives and trade union leaders yesterday welcomed His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa’s decision to provide additional funds for social welfare and subsidies but said that more needs to be done to meet citizens’ needs.
The MPs said that the inflation allowance should be increased for several families and more funds should be allotted to the housing and infrastructure sectors for the swift completion of various projects.
“We have been asking the government to enhance the budgetary allocation for some time as we promised it to the electorate during the elections. The reports of the government withdrawing subsidies did not go down well with the people. But His Majesty the King’s decision to get involved and stand by his citizens, especially in this situation, is laudable,” MP Abdul Hussain Al Mutghawi said.
Describing the decision as “absolutely good,” female MP Latifa Al Gaoud said that this is what the public and MPs from all political societies were seeking. “Pumping additional money into the budget for the next two years will enable people to share the burden of inflation which is reflected in the increase in the prices of food commodities.”
“This was one of the priority issues for all of us and it is our responsibility to bring people above the poverty line. We hope it will be a win-win situation for all,” she stated.
Chairman of the Parliament’s Finance and Economic Affairs Committee and head of the Al Wefaq bloc in Parliament, Abduljalil Khalil, said that the additional revenues became possible after the committee requested the Oil and Gas Affairs Ministry to increase oil production from an estimated 27,000 barrels per day (BPD) to 40,000 BPD in 2011 and 45,000 BPD in 2012.
“The additional production will fetch around BD130 million and this has been included in the budget. What we are basically doing is increasing our revenue,” he said.
He added that the Housing Ministry’s budget also needs to be increased from BD120 million to BD300 million over the next two years in order to allow for the construction of new projects, besides the renovating of old houses in the Kingdom.
“These issues will be discussed in the next few days with the Finance Ministry for a final decision,” he said.
Another MP from the Al Wefaq bloc, Ali Al Aswad, said that there is a real need for the inflation subsidy to be raised from BD50 to between BD80 and BD100 in order to support the poorest of the poor.
The education, healthcare, housing and infrastructure sectors should also be provided with additional funds, he said.
Secretary General of the General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions, S. Salman Jaffar Al Mahfoodh agreed. He explained that although additional funding is a good solution, it will not solve the problem completely.
“The additional money will reduce inflation only in a limited manner,” he explained, adding that the government should increase the wages of private and public sector employees to help them deal with their financial burdens.
He added that the government should also amend the Minimum Wages Act for the benefit of all workers in the Kingdom, including expatriates.
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