Decentralization &
Partnership
with the Private Sector:
Reform Strategy in the Civil
Service Sector -Bahrain
Background to Civil Service Bureau (CSB)
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CSB was established in 1975
Role : Administer all staffing and personnel affairs in
the CS sector
30 years central administration of services
Rules, regulations and standards
Realized advantages of Centralization : Uniformity,
control and Justice.
However Centralization resulted in: Red tape,
bureaucracy, less autonomy for Govt. org.
In 2005 ISO 9001:2000 was introduced
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CSB committed to providing its customers with highest level
of quality services and satisfaction.
Embracing the following 8 quality management principles:
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Customer focus
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Leadership
 Involvement of people
 Process approach
 System approach to management
 Continual improvement
 Factual approach to decision making
 Mutual beneficial supplier relationship
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Implementing Quality Management at
CSB
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New committees formed, targets and objectives set.
Mission statement and visions were introduced for
each directorate and for CSB as a whole.
New way of handling services, target dates for
implementation; Non conformances reported and
corrective actions/ preventive actions put into effect.
New thoughts introduced; decentralization and
experience witnessed in Singapore.
Mission and Vision of CSB
 Mission
: to develop the level of civil
service, to raise the level of employees
productivity, and to ensure justice and
equity in the the treatment of employees
 Vision : to be a pioneer, excelling in
providing services and management
consultancy to civil service.
CSB Values
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Embracing rules and regulations
Justice, fairness and equal opportunities.
Belongingness: sense of unity
Professionalism
Quality and Excellence
Transparency
Integrity, honesty and impartiality
Participation in Decision making
Team work
Initiative and creativity
Motivation and protection
CSB Strategies to 2010
 Minimize
routine admin work through
decentralization and automation ….
 Focus on value added consultative services
 Take leading role in promoting strategic
management
 Promote HR culture based on twin
concepts of competence and merit….
 Facilitate and support culture of Quality
CSB Action Plan
Enhance elements of change; people and other
resources – new flow charts made for processes
 All administrative work is done by government
organisations –more efficient processes
 Oracle introduced in place of Wang System
 Link with government ministries through work
flow technology in Oracle system
 Some services 100% decentralized, reference to
approved standards and regulations
 New CS law passed in July 2007
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Future strategies for CSB
 In
process of CSB-wide re-engineering
project to build on progress so far and
develop CSB strategic role
 Developing objectives in line with new
national plan, to promote HR excellence
across government, enhance skills and
competencies of CS employees, and
develop more efficient public service
Partnership with Private Sector
 International
Monetary Fund
recommended this in 2004 for Bahrain:
“the main challenge ...will be …creating
employment opportunities for the growing
Bahraini labor force. ...in particular, reducing
the role and size of the public sector while
encouraging private sector development”.
Privatisation so far in Bahrain
Municipal waste management/cleaning
 Power and water station at Hidd – Hidd Power
Company
 Public Transport Buses - CARS Bus Services
 Mina Salman Port – Moller Maersk
 Outsourced transport and catering at Ministry
of Health – Avis Car Hire
 Cleaning/security contracts in ministries
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Success Story: Hidd Power Station
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From July 2004 on Build-Own-Operate (BOO) basis
Plant sold by government for 738m dollars
Designed to reduce pollution and noise
Only needs 100 employees compared to 200 when
previously run by the government
99% reliability for gas turbines to back up other plants
Employees very happy with pension packages offered
Speed of award process and finance recognised
internationally
Plans for Privatisation in progress
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More Electricity and Water Production
Bahrain Airport Company
Building maintenance and Sewerage works
New King Hamad General Hospital
Post Offices
CSB also looking at outsourcing some of its own
services to ministries
Other areas across Health, Infrastructure, Social Care
and Customer Services…
New Privatisation Initiatives
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New decree in early 2008 to establish High Committee for
Privatisation and set legal framework to enhance process
The Privatisation and Outsourcing Directorate established
at Ministry of Finance to:
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Study projects for handing over government services to the
private sector
Support government organisations to implement privatisation ,
including fast-track processes
Appoint and monitor external consultants to assist with
privatisation
Co-ordinate with government bodies to ensure efficiency and
effectiveness of processes and successful communication
Role of CSB in Privatisation
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Conduct reviews of privatisation initiatives at
ministries
Conduct re-deployment/ retraining of surplus
manpower
Co-ordinate Pension arrangements for employees
Approve and renew Manpower contracts at ministries
for cleaning, consultancy etc
From MOF guidelines on contracting out services:
“The success or failure of implementing the strategy,
whether contracting out, market orientation, or
privatization, will largely depend on the manpower
policy adopted by the ministry concerned’’
CSB Privatisation Project 2007-08
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Working in co-operation with MOF on:
Revised version of CSB Regulations on Early Retirement,
 Manpower processes and procedures for implementation
of privatisation exercises across ministries
 Enhanced processes for large scale redeployment
programmes
 Recommendations for protection of rights of Bahraini
employees transferring from government to private sector
 Standardised organisations in ministries for the supervision
of outsourced contracts, with appropriate job descriptions
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Conclusion and Outcome…
Change is constant .. Bahrain developing very
fast, just like all GCC countries
 Obstacles are always there…real challenge to
keep updated of the demand and benefit from
the experiences of others…
 Right decisions must always be made; what to
decentralize or outsource; and what to maintain
under govt. control…
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Thank you for listening!
Any questions?