HRH Premier chairs Cabinet session

Manama, Sep. 4 (BNA): His Royal Highness Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa has extended warmest congratulations to His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, and the Bahraini people on Eid Al-Adha. HRH Premier wished Bahraini leadership and people, as well as the Arab and Islamic nations many happy returns of the occasion. He also prayed to Allah the Almighty to bestow rewards on Haj pilgrims, lauding, in this regard, the great services and huge facilities provided by Saudi Arabia, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to pilgrims in order to be able to perform Haj rituals easily and comfortably. Chairing the regular weekly Cabinet session at the Gudaibiya Palace today, HRH the Prime Minister also congratulated students on the academic year 2016-2017, and wished them every success. He also directed the Education Ministry, and the academic and administrative staff to continue their efforts to achieve the government's aspirations and implement its policies aimed at improving the level of education through launching more initiatives to keep abreast with the development needs. He also directed them to develop the school curricula, improve the school day, foster the values and principles of citizenship, launch more development projects based on technology and information and communication technology and continue efforts to open new classrooms for students with special needs in order to integrate them into schools, Cabinet Secretary-General, Dr. Yaser bin Essa Al-Nasser, said in a statement following the session. HRH Premier urged to continue supporting and encouraging investment in private education, and achieve the required quality. He called for the need to attract more high education establishments in cooperation with world universities, and keep up efforts to develop the capacities of the academic staff in Bahrain's high education establishments in order to meet the highest quality standards. HRH Premier was commenting on a presentation given by the Minister of Education in which he highlighted the Ministry's preparations for the new school year and the development projects. Tackling housing issues, HRH Premier directed the Housing Ministry to meet the needs of Sanabes, Bilad Al-Qadeem and Zenj villagers through the Northern City. He also instructed it to study the allocation of the remaining part of the Tubli Housing Project to citizens of the same region. HRH Premier then lauded the role of charity funds and societies, stressing that their commendable efforts deserve all kinds of support and appreciation. In this regard, he instructed the Labour and Social Development Ministry to submit a report on charity funds and societies, including their humanitarian and charitable achievements, as well as ways of disbursing aid and their beneficiaries. The Ministry of Justice, Islamic Affairs and Endowments was also requested to submit a similar report about the Zakat (alms giving) Fund. The session discussed the financing of the Bahrain International Airport's development projects aimed at enhancing its infrastructure and improving the level of services provided for passengers. The projects will ensure the continuous delivery of those services in an outstanding way and maintain the airport's competitiveness, as well as encourage investment in civil aviation fields, a memorandum presented by the Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications said. The minister's presentation also included proposals to modify some fees on the services provided by the Civil Aviation Affairs Directorate, including meteorological services, licensing activities, airport services and check-out. The session endorsed the proposals, and requested the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs to follow up on the issuance of the necessary legal instruments. Reviewing urban issues, the Cabinet directed to continue efforts to facilitate procedures for obtaining licenses that support investment in this field, which will boost the government's efforts to attract urban development investments. The procedures include the issuance of construction licenses and the approval of urban plans and land lots in accordance with the National Strategic Master Plan. Commenting on a presentation given by the Minister of Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning on the investment and non-investment building permits and the licensed construction areas, the session expressed satisfaction with the positive growth of the urban movement in the kingdom. Figures presented by the minister indicated that during the first eight months of 2016, a total of 7,447 permits, worth BD 1.3 billion, had been issued. They included 685 building permits for investment projects, representing nine percent of the total figure. The construction permits issued during the first eight months increased by 11 percent compared with the same period last year, and added over four million square metres of constructed areas. Referring to municipal issues, HRH Premier directed to provide facilities for municipal councils and increase coordination with them in order to deliver the best services for the citizens and residents, as well as strengthen their role. In this context, the session reviewed the recommendations and resolutions of municipal councils during the second session of the fourth municipal term, highlighted in the memorandum presented by the Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Minister. The report showed that planning issued topped municipal councils' interests with 48 percent, while 30 percent of their resolutions and proposals were related to regulatory issues, and 18 percent to beautification and entertainment projects. Tackling youth issues, HRH the Prime Minister directed to implement more projects and activities that attract youngsters and help them acquire new skills and talents that enhance their ability to serve development in the kingdom, in line with the human resources development and social services theme of the Government Action Plan. In this context, the Cabinet reviewed a report presented by the Youth and Sports Affairs Minister on the summer programmes and activities provided for Bahraini youth in 2016 across the kingdom's towns and villages. The session discussed three proposals submitted by the Council of Representatives and approved the government’s replies to them, as recommended by the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs. The proposals were related to banning the use of trucks and tanks on roads at specific times, the provision of Wi-Fi services at more public places and the completion of the Prince Saud Al Faisal Avenue Project.