Manama: Bahrain is setting up a committee to regulate appointments to high positions in the public sector.
The nominations of ministry undersecretaries, assistant undersecretaries and directors will henceforth have to be endorsed first by the six-member committee before they are referred to the prime minister for final approval.
The committee, set up in an edict issued by Prime Minister Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa on Wednesday, is to be chaired by the vice president of the Civil Service Bureau, the authority overseeing the government sector.
It includes the state minister for follow up, the head of the Prime Minister’s Court, the general director of the Office of the First Deputy Premier, the president of the Civil Service Bureau and the general director of the Public Administration.
Experts may provide feedback to assist the committee, but they cannot have an active role in debates, the edict said.
The panel is tasked with studying all applications for positions in coordination with the competent authorities.
Other tasks include drawing up long and short-term plans for appointments and filling in vacancies in ministries, using the database available at the Civil Service Bureau.
The committee also has to set specific criteria to assess high positions and evaluate both current holders and applicants.
Under Article Five of the edict, the committee refers the applications and the names and CVs of the applicants as well as the reasons for the appointments to the Prime Minister through his court.
