BCCI members approve annual report during GAM

Manama : Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) members approved the annual report of the board of directors during the Ordinary General Assembly Meeting (GAM) yesterday in Sanabis. The meeting saw a huge turnout as more than 700 members attended the session.

Apart from the approval of the annual report for 2015, members discussed and approved the financial situation and the External Auditor’s report for the fiscal year 2015 and assigned the External Auditor.

The meeting was originally intended to take place on March 27. However, in order to grant the BCCI management enough time to agree on some items on the agenda, it was postponed to yesterday.

Speaking to DT News, BCCI board member Mohammed Sajid said the meeting was a successful one where many agreements were made. He added that majority of the members expressed their confidence in the newly elected board.

“It was a fruitful meeting that was acceptable to all those who were present there. We respect all the decisions taken on the day and I am delighted that majority of those who attended agreed to the decisions. I am very happy with the board as well as the members. We are all brothers and we work towards the same cause. The board has promised more open and transparent policies and improvement in other areas as well. We were also promised more frequent meetings.”

Meanwhile, another member Mahmood Al Namliti said that he agreed to the points made during the meeting. “Apart from the agreement about the annual report and other formalities, a few good points were raised,” he said. 

“One of the members pointed out to use our savings for investments rather than to just keep it in the bank. This is very true, if you have a good amount as a saving, it is much better to invest than to just keep it in the bank. When we have brilliant businessmen in Bahrain, we should invest more and keep less in the bank,” added Al Namliti. 

BCCI Chairman Khalid Al Moayed absent

BCCI Chairman Khalid Al Moayed did not attend the meeting yesterday. He had submitted his resignation last week, which was subsequently rejected by the board. 

“He is still our captain, we want him to take us forward. Hopefully he will be there for our next meeting,” said Sajid.

Spat incidents

A few spats broke out among  the members during the meeting. Some of them were videotaped and uploaded online. 

“There was one incident where an Asian member was insulted by an Arab member. The Arab man kept asking him to shut up in a disrespectful manner, then he lost his cool,” he said.

The videos have gone viral on Bahraini social media forums.