Tamkeen affirms ongoing monitoring efforts to prevent any misuse of support programs
The Labour Fund “Tamkeen” affirmed its ongoing regulatory efforts aimed at preventing any manipulation or misuse of the support programs and praised the continuous cooperation shown by the relevant authorities in the safeguarding of public funds and directing support to the rightful beneficiaries.
This announcement comes following the issuance of a conviction in a violation previously reported by Tamkeen to the Public Prosecution concerning the misuse of the National Employment Program, one of Tamkeen’s flagship support programs.
Through ongoing monitoring activities and site visits, Tamkeen’s violations committee was able to detect and confirm the violation. The results revealed that the beneficiary exploited Tamkeen’s support funds through the Ghost Employment of 23 employees. While the enterprise was an existing entity based on the records of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and had registered its employees in the Social Insurance Organization, it was revealed that the enterprise was not present at the address registered with Tamkeen or any other addresses, and none of the workers that were claimed to be employees had in fact joined the organization.
After verifying all the details of the case, Tamkeen’s Violations Committee proceeded to escalate a report to the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and Electronic Security, which in turn referred it to the Public Prosecution. This violation marks a breach in the laws and regulations of the Kingdom of Bahrain and defrauds several official authorities in the Kingdom to unlawfully obtain support funds.
Tamkeen praised the collaborative effort with the relevant authorities to ensure the implementation of the Kingdom’s laws and regulations, as well as adherence of Tamkeen’s internal regulatory policies. Tamkeen also urged enterprises to comply with all the terms and conditions as well as regulations to avoid any violating practices that could result in implying disciplinary measures against them.
This comes as Tamkeen continues its regulatory efforts in monitoring the employment and wage support programs. More than 4,300 inspection visits have been conducted since the programs launch in November 2023 to date.
Tamkeen urges all beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of support programs to report any violations or misuse in full confidentiality through the designated channels, which include the dedicated page on the website www.tamkeen.bh/whistleblower-form, the whistleblowing hotline 17383383, or via email at report@tamkeen.bh.