MPs say meet 2-week deadline to form govt

KUWAIT CITY, March 8: A total of 19 lawmakers urged His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to meet the two-week deadline for the formation of the new government as per the Constitution. In a joint statement Wednesday, these lawmakers warned that they will use their constitutional tools to push for political questioning in case the new government is formed beyond the specified period. They stressed the need to adhere to the Constitution as it is the foundation of cooperation and a way to settle disputes.

The lawmakers who signed the statement are Muhammad Al-Mutair, Adel Al-Damkhi, Abdulwahab Al-Essa, Khalid Al-Tamar, Fares Al-Otaibi, Mubarak Al- Tasha, Abdullah Al- Anbaie, Thamer Al-Suwait, Osama Al- Shaheen, Hamad Al-Matar, Abdulaziz Al- Saqaabi, Khalid Al-Otaibi, Muhammad Al- Hewaila, Muhammad Hayef Al-Mutairi, Hamad Al- Obaid, Mubarak Al-Hajraf, Muhammad Al-Mahan, Marzouq Al-Hebeini and Al- SaifiMubarak Al-Saifi. Meanwhile, MP Khalil Al-Saleh submitted a proposal to grant incentive equal to one month salary to Kuwaitis working in the public sector and retirees on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. He explained this will ease the financial burdens of families and help them cope with rising prices.

Queries
On the other hand, MP Hani Shams forwarded queries to Minister of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Amani Bugamaz about the recent decision to change the working hours, which prompted the workers to protest. He wants to know why the protesting workers were interrogated. He also demanded for a copy of the decision.

MP Falah Al-Hajri asked Minister of Justice, Endowments and Islamic Affairs and State Minister for Integrity Promotion Abdulaziz Majed Al-Majed if it is true that the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs has given up its seat in the Board of Directors of Kuwait Finance House (KFH). If yes, is this part of the duties of a caretaker minister? He inquired if the minister has the right to take such action and if the government approved it. He also requested for a list of violations recorded by the Recruitment Department like the illegal appointments, steps taken regarding the violations, comments and violations recorded by the State Audit Bureau (SAB) against the Ministry of Justice, Endowments and Islamic Affairs since 2020 till date and measures taken. MP Muhannad Al-Sayer forwarded queries to all ministers about Civil Service Commission (CSC) resolution number 35/1992 on giving supervisory positions like the heads of offices and secretaries of ministers only to Kuwaitis. He wants to know the number of expatriates occupying such positions in every ministry and subsidiary institutions.

MP Thamer Al-Suwait asked Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Barrak Al-Sheetan to provide him with the names, qualifications, salaries and allowances of the members of the Legal Affairs Committee at the Council of Ministers; agenda and achievements of the committee in the previous year; and the recommendations and reports it has presented since 2019 till date. MP Jenan Bu Shehri asked the finance minister to provide her with copies of the report of SAB on the enterprises financed by the National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises and correspondences between the fund and SAB on the latter’s request for a reply to its report dated Dec 26, 2022 within one month. She wants to know if the Board of Directors of the fund discussed the report, members of the technical committee tasked to evaluate the enterprises registered in the fund since its establishment till date, and action taken regarding the violations included in the report of SAB like the forgery of official documents.

MP Saoud Al-Asfour forwarded queries to State Minister for National Assembly Affairs, Housing and Urban Development Ammar Al- Ajmi about the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) unit tasked to oversee Incheon International Company, which operates Terminal Four at Kuwait International Airport as per the contract signed by the DGCA and Incheon Airport Company — the South Korean side. He cited the report of SAB that almost KD15 million has yet to be collected from Incheon Airport Company, so he inquired about the reasons behind the delayed collection; if the workers at Kuwait International Airport were trained by Incheon Airport Company as per the contract, and number of trained workers compared to the total number of workers. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff