His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister today chaired a meeting of the Executive Committee, during which additional efforts to strengthen the Kingdom’s fiscal position were discussed. The discussions follow His Majesty King Hamad's directives to form a downsized government in order to enhance efficiency and effectiveness across government, without adversely affecting citizens’ standard of living.
Following the meeting, the Executive Committee announced that during the next Cabinet meeting it will put forward a recommendation regarding the integration of ten government entities, to ensure optimum public spending.
In addition, the Executive Committee announced the establishment of six Government Task Forces to review and identify areas where government expenditure can be reduced and provide regular updates on their progress. The areas that the task forces will review include:
- Maintenance of government buildings
The task force responsible for the reduction of costs related to the maintenance of government buildings will be led by the Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning.
- Travel expenses and transportation
The task force responsible for the reduction of travel expenses and transportation costs will be led by the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications.
- Property Rental costs
The task force responsible for the reduction of property rental costs will be led by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism.
- Advertisements and administration
The task force responsible for the reduction of costs related to advertisements, publications, subscriptions and stationery, will be led by the Ministry of Information Affairs and Shura Council and Representative Council Affairs.
- IT expenditure
The task force responsible for auditing and reducing IT-related expenditure will be led by the Chief Executive Officer of the E-government Authority.
- Efficient utilization of medications and medical equipment
The task force responsible for efficient utilization of medications and medical equipment will be led by the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health.
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Quelle/Source: ahrain News Agency, 01.10.2015