The second position in which Bahrainis are the weakest party is Bahraini small and medium enterprises, when it comes to government tenders.
On the occasion of discussing the new tender law, guaranteeing the right of this category is a duty for the legislative authorities, when they approve the law, and the executive authorities, when its measures and procedures are put in place.
Especially since the law gives government institutions the freedom to decide exclusively within the limits of tenders of less than 50 thousand dinars and 100 thousand dinars for government companies.
This law not only affects the income of small enterprises, but also affects the treatment of the unemployment issue.
Mrs. Sheikha Al-Abbasi, the recruitment manager at a small company (Solid), says that she wants to increase the number of Bahrainis in her company, but this depends on increasing her commercial activity in order to increase the company’s income, which leads to the creation of more job opportunities. Her company and other small companies have always entered into tenders put forward by the government, despite their failure every time to win. The problem is that no one bothered to explain to those institutions why companies won and others lost? Why do they ask us to provide many details that require effort and work from us to provide them, then we hear that the project has been canceled or we see that our work with some changes has been attributed to others? What is the error or flaw in our bids? This is a well-known problem in small market circles that include similar small institutions, as they all carry the same complaint.
Meaning that there is an empty link between these institutions and the Tender Board. Although there are incentive laws to guarantee the share of these institutions in government tenders, the reality is still far from these guarantees.
These small fish (small and medium enterprises) are swallowed by the big fish in the vicinity of government tenders or the tenders of large Bahraini companies, and only a few of them find a footing. The reasons may be any of these institutions due to the weakness of their bids, their ignorance, or their lack of familiarity with what is required, and here begins the missing link in the measures that come after the adoption of the law, that this reality has not been addressed through follow-up, monitoring, and searching for solutions to it. There is no help from the Tender Board, or from the Chamber, to point out its weaknesses. And he helps her get that share.
The segment is very large, and it has a share in the volume of Bahraini economic activity and its revival, and its support is the revitalization of the Bahraini market and the creation of employment opportunities if it helps it expand the scope of its activity by obtaining a share of the tender market.
The most beautiful thing is that it will ensure the circulation of the money that the state pumps into Bahrain, i.e. (pouring into our dump), as the winner is Bahrain in the end.
The solutions to this problem are neither complicated nor difficult, they require communication, but they will achieve a great balance when they do justice to those weaker parties in the market. As we said in our previous article, these imbalances have various gains that are not limited to the economic situation, but rather have many legal aspects that renew the connection between the state and the citizen, who will feel that there is someone following up on his needs and meeting them immediately. This is the duty of governments, that is, follow-up and evaluation, so that their efforts (i.e. the government) are not wasted before anyone else. The situation between the two parties (the government and the citizen) is in The progress, work and efforts are great, so we do not obstruct it or hinder its delivery to the citizen due to weak follow-up and re-evaluation.
