‘It’s not official’

Manama : The Cabinet has stressed that the statements of public employees on personal social media accounts are their individual opinions, and are not the stances of the Government departments to which they belong.

Such personal accounts on social network do not, in any way, reflect the policies of the government, which has enough officials and means to express its opinions and visions, the Cabinet said.

The Cabinet also pointed out that the official statements issued by the Government on issues of interest to the public opinion should be considered the only reference to its policy.

Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa chaired the Cabinet regular session, attended by the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the Gudaibiya Palace yesterday.

The Cabinet also affirmed that the constitution and the laws in the Kingdom guarantee freedom of expression, reiterating the Government’s commitment to supporting those freedoms.

The session requested the Civil Service Bureau to put forward the rules that regulate the administrative responsibility for that issue. 

It also called on the media to be accurate and seek Government-related information from official sources instead of relying on individual statements.

The session also approved a draft agreement between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia on air transportation, and commissioned the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications to sign it on behalf of the Government.

It also approved an Air Transportation Agreement signed between Bahrain and Tunisia, and referred it to the Legislative Branch, in accordance with the constitutional and legal procedures in force.

A draft agreement between Bahrain and Egypt on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income was also endorsed by the session.