KUWAIT CITY, Aug 30: Minister of Oil and Information Sheikh Ahmad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah should protect his employees, abolish the Complaints Committee, and replace it with a panel consisting of members from a neutral authority, away from the oil sector, reports Al-Seyassah daily quoting Lawmaker Saleh Ashour.
Confirming the minister responded to a bundle of questions he presented in September 2009 on Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its subsidiaries, Ashour disclosed some of the answers are incorrect, misleading or incomplete, while some affirmed grave violations in the corporation, which is considered one of the most significant institutions in Kuwait. He said some of the minister’s replies to the queries revealed the violations committed by a KPC subsidiary in signing contracts with commercial firms to implement oil sector projects before obtaining approval from the Central Tenders Committee (CTC).

“In the minister’s response to another question, we noticed that KPC formed the Complaints Committee in 2007 under the direct supervision of its executive director, Saad Al-Shuwaib, through a circular distributed to the staff. I was shocked when I discovered that the employees have presented 57 complaints on promotions and working conditions. The committee dealt with only 11 of these complaints through verbal and written warnings,” Ashour added.

Ashour stressed the need to seek the assistance of other authorities like the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and Audit Bureau, while the role of the corporation will be limited to supervision, since the committee formed by the executive director is illegal and does not ensure justice among the employees. Instead of looking into the complaints, the panel deprived the young and competent employees of their chance to prove their leadership abilities, he lamented.