Driving ban on expats 'constitutionally questionable'
Manama, June 2, 2014
A top official has cast doubts on the constitutionality of the new traffic law.
"The draft legislation banning expats from driving is constitutionally questionable," Minister of State for Information Affairs and government's official spokeswoman Sameera Rajab said.
Speaking after the weekly Cabinet meeting, she said Bahrain's open-minded society cannot turn back, reported the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
"We have always been moving forward, not backwards," she said, stressing Bahrain's pioneering approach in dealing with issues relating to people's rights.
She pointed out that the government is following up the development of the contentious law.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet yesterday approved a memorandum on specifying fees payable by employment agencies and licensed manpower consultants.
The ministerial committee for financial and economic affairs called for specifying fees to be levied on foreign employers when they apply for fresh work permits, as well as for domestic workers, and recommended amending some of the current fees while maintaining others to avoid imposing additional burden on business owners.
The Cabinet also discussed mechanisms to decide on applications for temporary exemption or reduction of fees on civil aviation activities, in line with the Civil Aviation Law for 2013, and referred to the ministerial committee for legal affairs for review. - TradeArabia News Service
