PM Johnson's vaccine honeymoon is over
May 20, 2021, 1:59 pm

The GMB union said Boris Johnson’s reported comments that he would rather see ‘bodies piled high’ than approve a third lockdown ‘shows why a public inquiry is needed now’.

Andrew Grice

Suddenly, Boris Johnson’s vaccine honeymoon seems over. It’s as if he has been propelled back in time to the hard slog and agonising decisions on coronavirus. The Indian variant has changed everything.

Ministers give mixed messages on foreign travel; if they are confused about whether we can go on holiday to a country on the amber list, it’s no wonder the rest of us are. The amber list stems from Johnson’s voracious appetite to have his cake and eat it.

He wants to send a positive signal to people desperate for a holiday and the beleaguered travel sector, but he also knows from Downing Street’s opinion polls and focus groups that the public remains cautious. His tone about foreign travel has become more negative as the potential threat from the Indian variant has grown. But that’s no substitute for clarity.

After a familiar pattern of behaviour, the prime minister is rightly under fire for the inexcusable delay in putting India on the red list. It appears to be an open secret in Whitehall that Johnson dithered because he did not want to offend his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi ahead of his planned trade visit to the country. As soon as it was postponed because of India’s covid crisis, India was put on the red list.

Ministers’ claims about the number of Indian variant cases in England are deeply unconvincing. It emerged today that scientists were warning Johnson about the Indian variant four weeks ago, and some opposed going ahead with Monday’s relaxation of restrictions.

The vaccine rollout united the country, Johnson’s cabinet and MPs and even those pesky scientific advisers. The choices he must make in the next few weeks will almost certainly divide them.

It was easy for ministers to read a media script that told them to divert all questions to the vaccine: “We are in a much better position than last year because of the successful vaccine programme.” Now the picture is more complicated again, ministers doing media interviews tilt the balance towards their personal view, whether on international travel or the full relaxation due on 21 June.

Johnson desperately hopes the Indian variant will not force him to postpone that milestone. In a worst-case scenario, he might even have to roll back some of the freedoms we regained this week. The current thinking in Whitehall is that a clawback will not be necessary, but the number of cases over the next few days will be crucial.

The tricky questions are piling up. What higher level of Covid cases should Johnson allow, even if it would not overwhelm the NHS? Should he impose unpopular local lockdowns in hotspots? What about mask-wearing, social distancing, going back to the office and domestic Covid passports (ie the pub), which officials believe will return to the agenda if the Indian variant becomes the dominant one?

In another echo of previous phases of the pandemic, lockdown sceptic Tory MPs and their newspaper cheerleaders gear up for battle to ensure the 21 June relaxation goes ahead, irrespective of the data that is supposed to drive the government’s decisions. A cabinet minister warned darkly in the Daily Mail that missing the target would be Johnson’s “Theresa May moment” (missing her Brexit deadline, after which she was eventually ousted by her MPs).

But there’s a crucial difference from previous acts of this drama: Dominic Cummings is outside Johnson’s tent, lobbing rocks at him. The local elections came at a good time for Johnson. His former adviser’s appearance before MPs on Wednesday next week will come at a bad time.

Cummings has whetted our appetite in a 26-part Twitter thread, which also tosses pointers to the MPs on what to ask him about. Johnson tried to pre-empt Cummings’s demand for a full public inquiry into the government’s handling of coronavirus by announcing one will begin in the spring of 2022. Cummings has now rebutted the pre-buttal by warning: “The public inquiry will at no point ask: how does the deep institutional wiring of the parties/civil service program destructive behaviour by putting the wrong people in wrong jobs with destructive incentives? It will all be about relatively surface errors.”

Of course, Johnson allies will do their worst in trying to discredit the turbulent priest he naively thought he had sentenced to political death by booting him out of No 10. But his criticisms cannot be dismissed; he was there.

The mistakes are not only being exposed by Cummings. In a report today, the National Audit Office spending watchdog criticises the lack of planning for a pandemic which has “laid bare existing fault lines within society, such as the risk of widening inequalities, and within public service delivery and government itself”. One day, voters will remember the Tories have been in power for 11 years.

The “vaccine success” narrative was never going to last forever. Johnson will desperately hope the Indian variant is just a temporary disruption but knows it might not be. So this a dangerous moment for him.

Source: The Independent

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the company’s headquarters in the Seef District.
During the meeting, shareholders approved all items listed on the agenda, including the ratification of the minutes of the previous AGM held on 26 March 2024. The session reviewed and approved the Board’s Annual Report on the company’s activities and financial performance for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2024, and the shareholders expressed their satisfaction with the company’s operational and financial results during the reporting period.
The meeting also reviewed the Independent External Auditor’s Report on the company’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. Subsequently, the shareholders approved the audited financial statements for the fiscal year. Based on the Board’s recommendation, the shareholders approved the distribution of a cash dividend equivalent to 10% of the paid-up share capital.
Furthermore, the shareholders endorsed the allocation of a total amount of BD 172,500 as remuneration to the members of the Board for the year ended 31 December 2024, subject to prior clearance by related authorities.
The extension of the current composition of the Board was approved, which includes ten members and one CBB observer, for a further six-month term, expiring in September 2025, pending no objection from the CBB.
The meeting reviewed and approved the Corporate Governance Report for 2024, which affirmed the company’s full compliance with the corporate governance directives issued by the CBB and other applicable regulatory frameworks. The AGM absolved the Board Members of liability for any of their actions during the year ending on 31st December 2024, in accordance with the Commercial Companies Law.
In alignment with regulatory requirements, the session approved the reappointment of Ernst & Young (EY) as the company’s External Auditors for the fiscal year 2025, covering both the parent company and its subsidiaries—Sinnad and Bahrain FinTech Bay. The Board was authorised to determine the external auditors’ professional fees, subject to approval from the CBB, and the meeting concluded with a discussion of any additional issues as per Article (207) of the Commercial Companies Law.
Speaking on the company’s performance, Mr. Mohamed Al Bastaki, Chairman BENEFIT , stated: “In terms of the financial results for 2024, I am pleased to say that the year gone by has also been proved to be a success in delivering tangible results. Growth rate for 2024 was 19 per cent. Revenue for the year was BD 17 M (US$ 45.3 Million) and net profit was 2 Million ($ 5.3 Million).

Mr. Al Bastaki also announced that the Board had formally adopted a new three-year strategic roadmap to commence in 2025. The strategy encompasses a phased international expansion, optimisation of internal operations, enhanced revenue diversification, long-term sustainability initiatives, and the advancement of innovation and digital transformation initiatives across all service lines.
“I extend my sincere appreciation to the CBB for its continued support of BENEFIT and its pivotal role in fostering a stable and progressive regulatory environment for the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector—an environment that has significantly reinforced Bahrain’s standing as a leading financial hub in the region,” said Mr. Al Bastaki. “I would also like to thank our partner banks and valued customers for their trust, and our shareholders for their ongoing encouragement. The achievements of 2024 set a strong precedent, and I am confident they will serve as a foundation for yet another successful and impactful year ahead.”
Chief Executive of BENEFIT; Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi commented, “The year 2024 represented another pivotal chapter in BENEFIT ’s evolution. We achieved substantial progress in advancing our digital strategy across multiple sectors, while reinforcing our long-term commitment to the development of Bahrain’s financial services and payments landscape. Throughout the year, we remained firmly aligned with our objective of delivering measurable value to our shareholders, strategic partners, and customers. At the same time, we continued to play an active role in enabling Bahrain’s digital economy by introducing innovative solutions and service enhancements that directly address market needs and future opportunities.”
Mr. AlJanahi affirmed that BENEFIT has successfully developed a robust and well-integrated payment network that connects individuals and businesses across Bahrain, accelerating the adoption of emerging technologies in the banking and financial services sector and reinforcing Bahrain’s position as a growing fintech hub, and added, “Our achievements of the past year reflect a long-term vision to establish a resilient electronic payment infrastructure that supports the Kingdom’s digital economy. Key developments in 2024 included the implementation of central authentication for open banking via BENEFIT Pay”
Mr. AlJanahi concluded by thanking the Board for its strategic direction, the company’s staff for their continued dedication, and the Central Bank of Bahrain, member banks, and shareholders for their valuable partnership and confidence in the company’s long-term vision.