Government's commitment to meeting citizens' needs stressed

Manama, Nov. 3 (BNA): Information and Parliament Affairs Minister Isa Abdulrahman Al Hammadi has emphasised the government's continuous commitment to providing optimum services for all Bahraini citizens. Speaking at the parliament's regular meeting today, he said any step taken by the government is the result of extensive studies and comparative researches between Bahrain and neighbouring countries. Concerning a proposal to cancel a usurious increase on loans granted by the General Organisation for Social Insurance, he said the organisation had signed an agreement with an Islamic bank which would go into effect soon after finalising all procedures. As for a proposal to suspend a BD 72 fee levelled by the Health Ministry, he pointed out the government's cost recovery principle, adding that the current BD 72 amount does not cover the real cost paid by the government to provide medical treatment for expatriate workers in companies. He noted that by comparison to other countries in the region, it has been found out that no country provides free medical services for expatriates and that health coverage is the responsibility of the employer. The Information and Parliament Affairs Minister underscored the government's commitment to the constitutional regulations in cooperating with the legislative branch. He said law 36 of 2012 explicitly binds owners of companies to provide health care for the workers whatever their number is as stipulated by article 172. As a matter of fact, he added, the government issued a resolution to enforce the law approved by the parliament. Regarding the setting up of a youth centre in the first constituency of Muharraq, Al-Hammadi pointed out the government's plan to set up four youth centres in Muharraq, one of them in Busaiteen with facilities for both men and women. He underlined the government's keenness to meet citizens from across Bahrain and reach out to their needs, pointing out commitment to article 68 of the constitution.