(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
DOHA: The Cabinet yesterday reviewed a report prepared by the authorities concerned about the rainfall of last week and the limited damage it caused and measures taken to address deficiencies if any.
The Cabinet also approved draft budget for the financial year 2016 and referred it to the Advisory Council for its review and recommendations. As for the Cabinet’s review of last week’s rainfall it checked on the quick fixes and procedures to avoid the recurrence of damage in future.
The Cabinet stressed that reviews proved that domestic and foreign media reports about the extent of the damage caused by the rain were not accurate and included a lot of unfounded exaggeration and rumours reported Qatar News Agency (QNA).
The Cabinet hailed the swift action of relevant state bodies to address the consequences of rain reduce the damage and restore the situation back to normal in a short time. It also praised the awareness of citizens and their cooperation with the authorities concerned.
The Cabinet meet at the Emiri Diwan was chaired by Prime Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani.
The cabinet reiterated the directives of the Prime Minister and Interior Minister to refer all the concerned authorities and project-executing companies in cases of damage caused by rain to investigation.
Reviewing topics on the agenda the Cabinet endorsed the draft state general budget for the financial year 2016 a draft law on ratifying the budget and to refer to the Advisory Council all the main chapters of the draft budget and the draft law on its ratification.
The draft budget aims to achieve sustainable development which aims to achieve the lofty goals of Qatar National Vision 2030 that include economic social human and environment development.
It also aims to ensure the continuity of completing and executing major projects in the basic sectors of health education and infrastructure and projects related to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The draft budget targets support and enhancement of the performance of non-petroleum sectors within state efforts to diversify the economy and limit the reliance on oil and gas revenues.
It also aims to expand participation of the private sector in economic activities and provide a convenient environment for attracting investment to economic sectors to decrease dependency on government spending.
The draft budget aims to maintain the country’s high credit rating and continue to control inflation through constant coordination between financial and monetary policies in cooperation with Qatar Central Bank.
Meanwhile the Cabinet approved a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. 8 of 2002 on the regulation of commercial agents’ work and referred it to the Advisory Council.
It also approved a proposal by the Ministry of Economy and Commerce to extend for six months time of regularisation for the addressees of provisions of Law No. 5 of 2015 on commercial and industrial stores the similar public ones and street vendors with extension from today as well as the addressees of provisions of the commercial companies’ law issued by Law No. 11 of 2015 with extension from February 7 2016.
The session reviewed a Cabinet draft decision on economic zones and a Cabinet draft decision on the concession of the Economic Zones Company and took decisions.
Following the session Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud gave details to QNA about what the Cabinet discussed and approved.
The Peninsula