Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry poised for another unique poll
TDT | Manama
The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
The upcoming polls to elect the new board of directors at the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) is all set to be unique in many ways. Many new faces representing new segments are in the foray, adding more substance to the polls, which has assumed a large importance for the involvement of the Kingdom’s business community along with the democratic process the Chamber has embraced.
The polls will be held on March 19, 2022 and the committee headed by Adel Hussain Al Maskati, Vice-Chairman Abbas Radhi, has approved the timeframe for the elections. It is learnt that a sub-committee is being formed to verify the list of eligible voters along with overseeing the budget, work mechanism as well as a transparent and smooth election process.
Tech entrepreneur Yaqoob Al Awadhi has already announced his intention to run for the polls. In a statement issued to media, Al Awadhi stated that “he is presenting himself as an independent candidate at this time while keeping the door open to forming coalitions with other businesspeople based on developments in the coming period”.
Al Awadhi revealed that he is running under the slogan “Recovery” because of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce’s key role in restoring activities to various aspects of Bahrain’s economic sectors and that this slogan also aligns with the trends of the distinguished government, which recently launched a comprehensive national plan for economic recovery, and the resulting sub-strategy to promote the industrial, tourism, logistics, and financial sectors.
Al Awadhi has proposed the creation of a portfolio of BD10 million from the Chamber of Commerce’s financial liquidity to help traders and the economy, which would be maintained by a third party such as a bank.
“These funds have accumulated over time as a result of previous government support and mandatory contributions from all traders in recent years, and it is now time to use them to stimulate the national economy, as the esteemed government did by withdrawing from the Generations Fund reserves to support the commercial sector and Bahraini citizens.” Al Awadhi emphasised the necessity of putting the chamber’s long-awaited investments, such as the ancient building on King Faisal Street and other assets, into action.
He stated that the Chamber’s proposed projects include accelerating business for entrepreneurs, as well as providing financial support for national projects related to the commercial market, such as the development of the old Manama Souq, as well as projects related to the promising sectors included in the economic recovery plan, such as Artificial Intelligence, sustainable energy, and space, among others.
According to reports, a new bloc has been formed representing small and medium enterprises and Bahrain Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Dr Abdulhassan Al Deiri has highlighted the significance with regard to the representation of SMEs at the Chamber. In 2018, Sameer Nass was elected the Chairman of the Chamber after the 15-member Tojjar Bloc, headed by him, won the race. Tojjar Bloc won 10 board seats out of the total 18, while seven members of the Sharaka Bloc and one independent candidate were also elected.
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