KUWAIT CITY, Jan 26: MP Osama Al-Shaheen submitted a bill to amend Law No. 2/2016 on the establishment of Kuwait Anti- Corruption Authority (Nazaha) in order to obligate the prime minister, ministers, National Assembly speaker and MPs to submit their financial disclosures to Nazaha and make them available to the citizens.

Al-Shaheen pointed out that the current law obligates the abovementioned individuals to submit their financial disclosures in sealed envelopes to Nazaha and the contents can be revealed only if requested by the judicial authority in case the relevant individual is subjected to investigation. He said the bill aims to provide citizens with facts about the financial status of the prime minister, ministers, Assembly speaker and MPs for citizens to follow up and question them any time.

MP Mubarak Al-Arow Al- Mutairi forwarded a bill to amend Amiri Decree No. 61/1976 on social security. It allows a naturalized citizen working in the public sector to add the years he worked before obtaining citizenship to the total number of years in service, provided he pays the social security contributions for the additional years either once or maximum of five years installment.

He also proposed the amendment of Law No.116/1992 on the administrative structure and specifying specializations to limit the period of delegating employees to leadership positions in an acting capacity for six months and this term is nonrenewable. He submitted a proposal to transfer supervision of the Criminal Evidence General Department from the Ministry of Interior to the Public Prosecution. MP Abdulkareem Al-Kandari proposed revision of all build-operate- transfer (BOT) contracts and rent contracts for State properties.

He explained the aim of the proposal is to increase the rent fees and value of BOT contracts to match the current prices and contribute to the public budget. On the other hand, MP Marzouq Al-Khalifa forwarded queries to interim Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Dr Rana Al-Fares about the Jahra coastal project.

He said Kuwait Municipality signed a contract for this purpose with foreign and national contractors at a total cost of KD880,000. He asked for the names of the local and foreign contractors, copy of the contract, stages and components of the project, and schedule of implementation. MP Badr Al-Humaidi asked interim Minister of Justice Nawaf Al-Yasseen about the delayed implementation of the decisions issued by the Public Prosecution to freeze the bank accounts of two companies — TEMAS and Star Neighborhood Real Estate Company and an individual from Sudan identified as Ahmed Moneer Dahab - as they are implicated in money laundering Lawsuit No. 993/2016. Al-Humaidi also forwarded queries to interim Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Nasser Al-Muhammad about the appointment of a retired citizen to a senior diplomatic position with the title of extraordinary ambassador even if he never worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and has never been part of the diplomatic corps.

He wants to know the truth about the allegation that the citizen was granted two suites in a five-star hotel and other privileges, institution that nominated the citizen to such position, and measures that will be taken to recover the money he received in case it is proven he obtained the amount illegally.

MP Hamad Al-Matar submitted questions to interim Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Thamer Ali Al-Sabah about the number of employees in the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI), their qualifications, number of vacant senior positions, number of employees who have been in service for more than 30 years and promoted to supervisory posts, and factors considered in their promotion. MP Soud Bu Sleeb asked interim Minister of Social Affairs, Awqaf and Isamic Affairs Essa Al-Kandari about the employees nominated for supervisory positions at the Public Authority for Handicapped Affairs (PAHA), results of exams taken by the applicants, directors who were not nominated to senior positions, criteria used in classifying the degrees of disabilities and number of lawsuits filed against PAHA.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff