MP, Minister disagree on expats hired in government sector

A lawmaker and a Minister yesterday had a disagreement about the number of expat employees hired in government authorities.

This happened during the Council of Representatives’ weekly meeting in Gudaibiya. The argument started when the council discussed the Government’s answers to MP Jalal Kadhem’s queries in regards to the number of non-Bahrainis employed in the public sector during the past three years.

In his reply to the MP’s question, the minister responsible for Civil Service Bureau (CSB), Parliament and Information Affair Minister Isa bin Abdulrahman Al Hammadi stressed that the latest statistics showed that “jobs at government institutions are 99 per cent occupied by Bahrainis.”

The Minister stated that “Less than 600 expats were recently employed in the public sector, forming less than 1 pc out of around 48, 000 employees in this sector.”

His statements were slammed by MP Kadhem, who alleged that “More than 2,000 expat teachers are employed a year and 8,000 in total,” adding that there are “local teachers who are waiting for more than 10 years for a decent job”.

“Even medical jobs are occupied mainly by expats. Many dentists and general medicine qualified Bahrainis are unemployed.

“There are more than 200 expats employed in the medical field a year, while Bahrainis with typical qualifications remain jobless,” Kadhem said.

“Why the Bahrainis are treated as if they have no expertise and are always replaced with expats. CSB should have a clear plan in this regards.

There are 888 unemployed citizens of all expertise, in 86 majors, and the jobs exist but are occupied by expats. Bahrainis should replace expats and not the other way around,” he said.

The MP claimed that CSB is controlled by a “political movement”, which he said resulted in employing more expats instead of national cadre.

This was denied by Minister Al Hammadi who affirmed that “there are no political strategies controlling CSB and this accusation is rejected.”

The Minister stressed that “not only academic qualifications nominate employees for jobs in the public or private sectors,” explaining that there are certain criteria required.”

“MPs have the authority to supervise the Government and its performance, but they should not make false accusations,” he said.

MP Kadhem walked out of the session for almost an hour, as “the minister’s reply to his queries weren’t sufficient.”

Photo: Isa Al Hammadi