Crown Prince accepts government task forces’ recommendations to reduce government expenditure by 30%

Manama, Dec. 8 (BNA): As part of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s recently announced programme of economic and fiscal reform, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince today chaired a meeting of the Government Executive Committee, during which the final report of the six government task forces, responsible for reducing government expenditure, was reviewed. The report includes a series of short and medium-term measures to reduce government expenditures by 30% and improve efficiency across entities. The Kingdom of Bahrain is implementing a comprehensive programme of structural economic and fiscal reforms to further strengthen it's long-term development. The programme is underpinned by three pillars: streamlining government expenditure; redistributing government subsidies; and a series of economic reforms and infrastructure projects worth more than $32bln to increase investment and growth. The programme has already resulted in the consolidation of a number of government ministries and the merging of ten government entities. The Crown Prince noted that the target to reduce expenditure by 30% demonstrates the government’s commitment to a sustainable fiscal position. Over the past two months the government task forces have conducted in-depth spending review meetings and site visits to assess government efficiency, and the Government Executive Committee today accepted their recommendations and directed on their implementation within specific timeframes. The Crown Prince noted that the recommendations included in the report will improve and modernise administrative procedures across government, and are in line with the objectives of the Kingdom’s economic and fiscal reform programme.