Crown Prince accepts task forces’ report to cut expenditure by 30pc

As part of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s recently announced programme of economic and fiscal reform, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa yesterday chaired a meeting of the Government Executive Committee, during which the final report of the six government task forces, responsible for reducing government expenditure, was reviewed. 

The report includes a series of short and medium-term measures to reduce government expenditures by 30pc and improve efficiency across entities. The Kingdom of Bahrain is implementing a comprehensive programme of structural economic and fiscal reforms to further strengthen it’s long-term development. The programme is underpinned by three pillars: streamlining government expenditure; redistributing government subsidies; and a series of economic reforms and infrastructure projects worth more than $32bn to increase investment and growth.  

The programme has already resulted in the consolidation of a number of government Ministries and the merging of 10 government entities. Prince Salman noted that the target to reduce expenditure by 30pc demonstrated the government’s commitment to a sustainable fiscal position.

Over the past two months, the government task forces have conducted in-depth spending review meetings and site visits to assess government efficiency, and the Government Executive Committee yesterday accepted their recommendations and directed on their implementation within specific timeframes. 

HRH Crown Prince noted that the recommendations included in the report would  improve and modernise administrative procedures across government, and were in line with the objectives of the Kingdom’s economic and fiscal reform programme.