MANAMA, 9 November 2005 — Bahrain’s economy is continuing to struggle because of a lack of strategic economic planning over the past three decades, a report by the Bahrain National Competitiveness Council (BNCC) released yesterday said.
The Bahrain Competitiveness Report 2005, the first by the recently established council, highlighted restrictive labor regulations, an inadequately educated work force, inefficient bureaucracy and corruption, poor work ethic, and access to finance as the top five problematic factors for doing business in Bahrain.
BNCC chairman, Jawad Habib, pointed out that Bahrain continues to follow a management-by-crisis model, as plans to direct government expenditure, labor training, and other factors that contribute to economic growth remain absent.
Bahrain’s competitiveness ranking dropped 9 places from 28 in 2004 to 37, according to the 2005 Global Competitiveness Report by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum released at the end of September.
The country also ranks third on the competitiveness index of Arab countries behind Qatar and United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Habib was quick to point out that the causes for the drop remained to be reviewed, adding that it did not necessarily mean that the Bahraini economy was worse off. “It could be that drastic measures taken by other countries to reform their economy caused them to move forward. We will not know until we study the results of the 2005 survey,” he said.
BNCC board member Alaa Yousif pointed out that the report was a wake-up call for the government, legislature, and others involved in shaping the future of the economy. “This report does not aim to criticize the performance of anyone, rather it is a tool to help with the reform process based on facts,” Yousif said.
“It is a reflection of the problems that face businessmen when they try to do business,” he added.
Yousif pointed out that the business community had been encouraged to provide their input in the decision-making process in a recent series of reform efforts introduced by Bahrain’s King Hamad ibn Isa Al-Khalifa.
The report was released one day ahead of the Arab Business Council’s World Economic Forum meeting scheduled for today in Bahrain.
