Page 212 - Bahrain Gov Annual Reports (III)_Neat

4

GENERAL REVIEW.

The end of the war, which occurred during the year under review, made no
appreciable difference to conditions in Bahrain. The difficulty in obtaining
imported goods such as motor vehicles, machinery and every type of building
materials and the lack of workmen made it impossible for the Government to
launch any new projects and difficult to carry out normal recurring work.

The people of Bahrain continued to enjoy war time prosperity and Arabs
of all classes were better off than they have ever been before. With wages remain­
ing at a high level, employment available for all and no increase in the cost of
living most people in Bahrain were in more comfortable circumstances when the
war ended than they were when the war began.
Rationing and price controls were not relaxed, the individual ration of
cereals per head was maintained and during most of the year a certain proportion
of rice was included in the ration. As in the previous war years the Government
bought, imported and sold to the people at controlled prices most of the essential
foodstuffs and clothing and by doing this price control was effectively enforced
and a fair distribution of food and clothing was ensured. Conditions were better
and prices were lower in Bahrain than in neighbouring states. Although much of
the Bahrain trade which used to be in the hands of the merchants was taken over
by the Government during the war yet the merchants themselves did not appear
to suffer from the loss of trade. An indication of this was the continuation of the
land boom which reached its highest level at the beginning of the year though
towards the end of the year prices were inclined to become more steady. House
property and building sites in Manama changed hands at prices comparable with
land values in sizeable towns in England or America. Although the Government
would willingly reduce controls and hand over trade to the merchants yet the food
situation abroad is such that no action of this kind could be taken at present.
During the year there were some changes among the British Officials
employed in the State, the Director of Education resumed his duties with the
British Council after four years’ service in Bahrain and no successor was appointed.
The Principal of the Technical School resigned and a detachment of British Police,
including a Police Inspector, joined the service of the State. Three of the British
Officials were on leave in England during the year.

The pearl season was a successful one, although the number of divers was
comparatively small; the earnings of Nakhudas and divers were high owing to the
big prices which were paid for pearls in India. At the end of the year there were
indications of a demand for pearls in Europe.
In various branches of administration difficulty was found in retaining
labourers and employees who were attracted by high wages to seek work with
•contractors who offered higher pay for temporary employment than what was
paid by the Government. This difficulty could have been met by an increase in
the cost of living allowances which were paid by the State but there was no rise