Information Minister chairs task force meeting

Manama, Nov.8 (BNA): A Government taskforce in charge of reducing recurrent expenditure convened today at the Information Affairs Authority (IAA) headquarters. Information, Parliament Affairs Minister Isa bin Abdulrahman Al-Hammadi chaired the meeting of the panel which was assigned to slash recurrent expenditure being allocated for advertisements, printing, subscriptions and stationary. The session, which followed the decision of the Executive Committee, chaired by His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier, discussed the best ways and most viable solutions to reduce recurrent expenditure. "The reduction of recurrent expenditure at ministries and government departments under the 2015-2016 fiscal years is part of a plan to restructure the governmental strata and rationalize spending without impacting the quality of services, productivity, competence or human resources", the minister said. He pointed out that the taskforce would reach out to all ministries and government departments to come out with recommendations for reducing recurrent expenditure, adding that the measure would help protect public resources, maintain financial stability, and ensure competent and efficient service performance. He pointed out that the Coordination Committee studied the plan as well as the scope of work of the task force for approval pending the completion of its duties within two months.