QNA/Doha

 

 The weekly Cabinet meeting, presided over by HE the Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa al-Thani, has ratified a draft law which defines the  financial year as 12 months starting from January 1 and ending on December 31.

The draft law on the issuance of the State’s financial system will be submitted  to the Advisory Council. The law applies to all governmental financial units.

It stipulates that the Finance Ministry is in charge of managing public funds; implementing the State’s financial policy and provisions related to setting and executing the general budget; the government’s accounts; overseeing the implementation of the general budget; the State’s final account; borrowing, lending and investment. The draft law defined the financial year as 12 months starting on January 1 and ending on December 31.  

The Cabinet also ratified a draft law amending some provisions of Law No 17 of 2009 on the establishment of Qatar Ports Management Company.

According to the draft law, the company is given a 15-year-long concession starting since the issue date of Law No. 17 of 2009, during which the company becomes the sole port manager and pays the government an annual fee that equals 25% of its net revenue.

The company is exempted from the fee for five years starting from January 2010, a period that could be renewed by a Cabinet decision. The company’s obligation to pay the fee drops if the government cancels the concession or modifies its conditions.  

 The Cabinet ratified a draft law amending Law No. 26 of 2008 on the rationalisation of electricity and water consumption. The amendment aims to address the wasteful use of electricity and drinking water.

According to the bill, automatic keys are set up for external lighting of buildings and facilities according to conditions and specifications established by a decision of the chairman of Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation.

A fine of no more than QR20,000 is to be handed to violators of Article 4, Item 1 of the law, which prohibits residents of buildings and facilities, whether owners or tenants, from using drinking water to wash cars and equipment or clean courtyards of buildings and facilities.

Additionally, a fine of no more than QR10,000 will be handed to violators of Article 4, Item 2 and 3, which prohibit leaving lights on in some locations such as walls and exteriors of buildings and public and private facilities from 7am to 4.30pm. The items also prohibit neglecting damaged or broken parts in internal water networks that might cause water leakage, after notifying the relevant body to fix the leakage.

Another outcome of the meeting saw the Cabinet endorse a draft decree on amending the unified customs tariff attached to Decree No 53 of 2012. The decree introduces new sub-sections in the unified customs tariff table for GCC states.

In addition, the meeting ratified a Cabinet decision amending the regulation and setting the powers of some administrative units that constitute the Ministry of Finance. It also endorsed the finance minister’s decision to establish and set the powers of departments at some administrative units that constitute the Ministry of Finance.  

The Cabinet ratified an air services draft agreement between the governments of Qatar and Sierra Leone.

It endorsed another draft agreement on cancelling visa requirements for holders of diplomatic and special passports between the governments of Qatar and Ecuador.

The Cabinet reviewed a letter by Minister of Municipalities and Urban Planning about the final report on the work of the co-ordinative committee studying the issue of children’s entertainment areas and theme parks.

According to the report, the committee reviewed legislation on this issue and the Ministry’s powers in this regard. It also discussed the implementation of safety standards and worked on setting technical standards and requirements of sites of theme parks and swimming pools, and proposed legislative tools in this regard that set strict rules of safety.

The Cabinet reviewed a letter by the Minister of Administrative Development about a Ministry study on modifying the salaries and allowances of Qatari academics at the Supreme Education Council.

It also reviewed a letter by the Minister of Development Planning and Statistics on the balance between the role of woman in family and society and her role in the job market.

Additionally, the Cabinet reviewed two drafts on the financial regulation of Qatar Financial Markets Authority and the tenders regulation of the Authority.

 

 

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