Legislative employees are active despite pandemic

TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

A total of 1,870 employees of the Shura Council, Representatives Council and municipal councils have taken part in 74 specialised events – both in-person and virtual – during the fifth legislative term.

The Bahrain Institute for Political Development said that despite the existing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the fifth legislative term has witnessed significant growth in the number, quality and volume of participation in specialised activities such as training courses and awareness programmes, as well as a series of discussions on various important topics.

The activities included 55 workshops, 10 lectures, five discussion sessions, three training sessions, and one special meeting for the legislative sector’s employees.

In 2020, five specialised programmes were organised such as training courses, workshops and lectures.

They also included Parliamentary Support Programme for the employees of the General Secretariat of the Shura Council, the Municipal Support Programme for the employees of municipal councils and Ministry of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning, as well as a Municipal Skills Programme for municipal councils, and members of the Shura Council and the House of Representatives.

Last year, the institute implemented five programmes, which included Parliamentary Skills Programme for members of the House of Representatives, secondment programme for Their Excellencies the Representatives, Parliamentary Skills Programme for members of the Shura Council, Municipal Skills Programme for members of the Capital Municipality and municipal councils, and Parliamentary Support Programme for Parliament secretariat employees.

The implementation of these activities comes from the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister.

The directives are in line with a royal decree providing training programmes, studies and research related to the constitutional and legal fields for different groups of people, particularly to members of the Shura and Representatives Councils as well as members of municipal councils.

Cooperation On this occasion, the institute affirmed the continuation of cooperation with the legislative authority and municipal councils during the coming period, as a commitment to implementing the plans and programmes approved by the Board of Trustees, while adapting their implementation in line with the precautionary measures against the COVID-19.

In 2018, the Parliamentary Support Programme was launched.

It included a crisis management workshop, parliamentary research preparation skills workshop, skills interpreting legal texts workshop, and how to deal with the internal regulations of the House of Representatives.

In 2019, the institute implemented six specialised programmes for members of the Shura and Representatives Councils, municipal councils and the Capital Municipality.