Tamkeen board of directors recently held its first meeting in 2012 headed by chairman Shaikh Mohammed Bin Essa Al Khalifa at its premises in Beit Al Tijjar.

The agenda included a review of the financial statements for 2011, operational plan and public consultations around it, National Audit Court report, reports of the various board committees, and administrative reports.

The members reviewed the feedback from the public consultations Tamkeen held with its stakeholders to discuss its 2012 operational plan, said a statement.

The sessions, held over the past two months, included beneficiaries, local media, legislators, government agencies, business people, youths, and banking sector.

Upon review, the board directed Tamkeen’s executive management team to follow up on and take into consideration the feedback received from the stakeholders, the statement said.

It then discussed financial matters, including reviewing and approving the 2011 financial statements, and examining the report prepared by the audit committee appointed by the board. 

The financial statements showed a drop in Tamkeen’s revenues, which is attributed to the suspension of the monthly labour fees paid to LMRA for non-Bahraini workers from April 1, 2011, and decrease in LMRA fees allocated to Tamkeen from 80 per cent to 50 per cent back in October 2011.

The independent external auditor further confirmed that the financial statements were free of material misstatement, the statement said.

This was followed by an update on the implementation of the recommendations put forth by the National Audit Court Report for 2010, which showed that Tamkeen has so far implemented 90 per cent of those recommendations.

The remaining recommendations of the report are in progress, it said.

The meeting concluded with the board reappointing Rodl Middle East as the external auditor for the third successive year, and a review of a report on Tamkeen's performance in the last quarter of 2011 and the 2011 annual report.

Shaikh Mohammed expressed his satisfaction with the progress made by Tamkeen in the development of the private sector, and stressed the need for more support to the private sector to help it overcome its various challenges.

He also said that it needs to continue working closely with the various organisations concerned to ensure the comprehensiveness of various private sector developmental efforts.

Tamkeen’s board of directors consist nine members representing the organisations which spearhead the development of the private sector, with three members representing the public sector and six for the private sector.

The meeting was also attended by Tamkeen chief executive Mahmood Hashem Al-Kooheji and Tamkeen’s executive management team, it said. – TradeArabia News Service