A new independent authority for ‘effective government spending’ could be launched in Bahrain, if MPs have their way.

Five MPs, led by Parliament’s eldest member Lulwa Al Romaihi, yesterday presented an urgent proposal for the new authority to Speaker Ahmed Al Musallam.

Parliament’s eldest member Lulwa Al Romaihi

Ms Al Romaihi wants the authority to assess the effectiveness of government spending in ministries and government bodies as assigned in the national state budget through clear and precise indicators.

“There is no proper follow-up to spending by ministries or government bodies to ensure it goes towards intended purposes or is directed rightfully,” she said.

“There are some projects that are listed for higher budgets but get implemented for lower costs, and no reason is given, whether the service was acquired a cheaper rate or simply done at lower quality,” explained Ms Al Romaihi.

“Also, there are schemes that aren’t done in a proper manner or differently from what is announced or stated.

“This is because there is no actual assessment to the effectiveness of government spending. The government can’t assess itself and for that we believe it is time for an independent special authority to do that.”

Ms Al Romaihi said having set indicators wouldn’t just provide momentarily or short-run assessment, but also provide a vision for future direction on effective spending.

“The authority may point out to the government that a certain project or scheme is not going ahead as intended, it should be halted, altered or changed, and even modified, or spending is higher than what it should be,” she added.

“All of the authority’s indicators, reports, findings and studies would be also helpful during audit when the National Audit Office carries out the scrutiny.”

More than 50 mega projects worth millions of dinars have been listed by the government over 2023-2024.

The projects in the housing, education, health, digitalisation and artificial intelligence sectors will also significantly improve the quality of services, the government told legislators earlier. The schemes cost a total of BD1.123 billion – of which BD608.6 million was allotted in 2023 and BD514.1m in 2024.

The government is providing BD450m, divided equally in two years, while the rest of the funds – BD383.6m in 2023 and BD289.1m in 2024 – is allotted from the GCC Development Programme.

Around 38pc of the budget is spent on infrastructure projects, 33pc on housing and community facilities, 11pc on youth, sport, culture and information, 4pc on education, health and social services, and the remaining 13pc has been set aside for miscellaneous expenses.

The pending projects include Bahrain Metro, Sports City, developing Salman Industrial City, revamping Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC), completing the fourth bridge between Muharraq and Manama, developing roads leading to the airport, constructing the new National Assembly and giving the media sector a facelift.

The budget was approved by Parliament and the Shura Council before being ratified by His Majesty King Hamad for immediate implementation in June 2023.

 

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