Page 269 - Records of Bahrain (6)_Neat

Budgetary affairs 257

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which R e receives. Xf the civil list were Increased it would
relieve His Highness a Tittle "of the large monthly payments
which he makes to his relations.
All His Highness's personal accounts are kept by me
and all payments are made by inc on behalf of His Highness
through his account and there is no doubt as to the facts
about his financial position.
Out of his proportion of the oil royalty His Highness
pays allowances to all those of the Khalifah Y/ho were not
included in the original civil list. He also pays a bonus
of two months salary, twice yearly, on receipt of the oil
royalty, to all persons on the civil list and pays every year
48,000 to both Shaikh Mohamed and shaikh Abdulla. [•,or some
years he has paid a cost of living allowance of 30# of salaries
to all of the Khalifah Y/ho are in receipt of allowances. In
addition His Highness gives away monies that over a year amount
to a large sum to innumerable people aus outside the family who
ask his financial help. The reputation which His Highness has .
acquired of being miserly is in fact one which is entirely
unjustified.
His Highness's share of the oil royalty is approximately
10 lakhs, out of this he makes the regular payments which I have
enumerated ubove, they amount to about 3\ lakhs per annum.
Supplementary civil list, to cover persons not included in
the civil list and adjustments in various alloY/ancos Rs.1,22,580
Half yearly oil bonus 1,58,200
Cost of living allov/ancc 65,300
Rs.3,46,100
His Highness's ov/n expenses have increased greatly since
the war and he feels that while his family'sh high cost of living
has been purtly compensated for by extra allowances no considera­
tion has been given to his own situation. The extra allov/ances
which his family receive are paid out of his own income which ha3
therefore diminished while at the sume time his expenses have
risen. His Highness was unwilling to take any steps in this
matter during the v/ar but he now feels that something must be
done. At the end of last month he had nothing to his credit in
his bank account.
For many years during the rule of the late Shaikh Hamad
I opposed Ills desire to increase the civil list and I was eventual­
ly successful in tying it down to its present size. At that time
the position was different and the revenue was small in comparison
to what It is today. For all these years I have been an opponent
of increasing the payments to the Ruling Family, sometimes at the
cost of much unpleasantness, but conditions have changed, it
cannot bo argued that the State is not wealthy and His Highness
Shaikh Salman is a very different person, where money mutters are
concerned, to his father. In my opinion His Highness has some
cause for complaint, many of the payments to the family were
Instituted by his father and it would be difficult at present to
put an end to them. His argument that his costs of living have
increased is quite true and it is true that he helps the family to
tne extont of certainly not less than one third of his own income
rrom the oil money. My suggestion is that the civil list should 5
ue increased to 5 lakhs a year and that His Highness should be paid
ilm
V° comPensate/for the extra payments which ho has been
maKing to the family during the war. He has ugreed that as soon
•as outer cost of living allowances are lowered he will reduce or
uo away with the allowances to the Khalifah family.
(P.T.O.)