Tamkeen Board holds third board meeting of 2013

Tamkeen’s Board of Directors held its third board meeting of 2013 recently and the agenda included discussion of the operational progress reports of Tamkeen, financial reports for the first half of the year ending on June 30, 2013, and the ongoing preparations for Tamkeen’s 2014 operational plan.

The progress reports until end of June 2013 showed that the number of Bahrainis and businesses served by Tamkeen during the first half of the year reached around 14,000 beneficiaries, including around 10,300 Bahrainis more than 3,600 businesses. As of the end of August 2013, the overall number of Bahrainis and businesses served by Tamkeen reached around 98,000 beneficiaries.

Tamkeen’s Chairman Shaikh Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, commented: “We strongly believe that the success of Tamkeen is measured by the success of its beneficiaries, who are the Bahrainis and businesses in Bahrain, and we know that the public’s expectations of Tamkeen are very high, especially in light of the return of the LMRA fees. The public consultation workshops currently being held with the various sectors will help us to align our support programmes and processes with these expectations, and identify new ways in which we can help Bahrainis and businesses grow and develop for 2014 and beyond.”

Tamkeen’s financial statements showed that fees from LMRA – Tamkeen’s sole source of income - amounted to BD 14.3 million from January 1 to the end of June, 2013, with Tamkeen spending BD 23.3 million on project expenses, and BD 8.7 million for the unemployment insurance which Tamkeen pays to the Social Insurance Organisation (SIO) on behalf of the private sector businesses as required by law. The statements also showed operating expenses of BD 2.9 million at the end of the period.

The Tamkeen Board of Directors is comprised of 9 members representing the organisations which spearhead the development of the private sector, with 3 members representing the public sector and 6 from civil sector as follows: Government and Economic Development Board (Sh. Mohammed bin Essa Al Khalifa, Mr. Abdulellah Al-Qassimi and Dr. Zakaria Hejres), Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Mr. Khalid Al-Amin, Mr. Isa Abdulrahim, and Mr. Kadhim Al Saeed), General Federation of Bahrain Trade Unions (Mr. Sayyid Salman Mahfoodh and Mr. Mohammed Abdulrahman), and Bahrain Association of Banks (Abdulkarim Bucheery).