King urges protection of public money, rational spending

His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa today stressed the importance of protecting public money, monitoring and rationalising spending. This came as he received at Al-Safriya Palace National Audit Office (NAO) President Hassan bin Khalifa Al-Jalahma, who submitted the NAO Report for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2015.

HM the King commended the dedicated efforts of the NAO President and staff, hailing their outstanding performance and strenuous endeavor to protect public money and achieve the highest standards of credibility, independence and transparency.

He lauded the NAO pivotal role in assuming its responsibility fully and maintaining its independent work which contributed to enhancing the performance of ministries and departments for the sake of public interest, the nation and citizens.

In a statement following the audience, Al-Jalahma said that he updated HM the King on NAO achievements during the 2015 fiscal year, stressing the positive impact of remarks and recommendations on the performance of ministries and institutions, which bolstered their commitment to rules and regulations and adherence to state policies on reducing public spending.

Al-Jalahma said that the meeting focused on optimising state financial resources through good use, efficient management and the collection of state debts and dues from concerned parties. He said he was deeply honoured to meet HM the King and hear his sound views regarding the role of the National Audit Office (NAO) in overseeing state funds, enforcing probity, responsibility, transparency and trust in dealing with public money and ensuring efficient management in compliance with the law provisions.

"HM the King commended the excellent performance of the office, hailing the standard of its annual periodic reports since its inception, which enabled concerned parties to remedy to their system shortcomings and upgrade the standard of their institutional management.