He admitted to using petrol coupons for private vehicles and claimed they were used immediately after he was sworn in as the minister. The ministry, he claimed, had not provided a car for him or his official guests, which forced him to use his personal car for official use, thus making him use the petrol coupons.
He denied breaching any rules of the Civil Services Bureau by employing Kumaran Chandra Bose, an Indian, as his driver. The rules mandated the employment of a Bahraini in that role. He said he had taken expert advice before employing him.
Defending himself against charges that he was responsible for the fiasco in waste management, he claimed he was not to be blamed for the mismanagement. As for benefiting from the various companies, which he served as director, Bin Rajab said that he did serve on the board of many companies, but after being sworn in minister, he had resigned from them.
He had advised his legal counsel to send communication to the various boards and ensure that his name was struck off all positions. This, however, had taken a year to take effect.
Independent MP Jassim Saeedi claimed the responses of the minister were ridiculous.
Other MPs who quizzed the minister expressed dissatisfaction with Rajab’s response and said they would now leave it to the judges, the Parliamentary Finance and Economic Committee and their ultimate goal would be to replace the minister.
