KUWAIT CITY, July 24: MP Hamad Al- Matar and several other lawmakers have asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to cancel the decision obligating Kuwaiti travelers to register on ‘Mosafer’ platform. Al-Matar also suggested assigning medical teams at Kuwait International Airport to conduct PCR test for Kuwaiti arriving passengers for free. He stressed that free health care is guaranteed by the Constitution. He wondered why only Kuwaitis stranded abroad are suffering due to high prices of plane tickets. He then reiterated the need to cancel the requirement for Kuwaiti travelers to register on ‘Mosafer’ platform. Commenting on the same issue, MP Khalid Al-Anzi asserted that the platform has been proven to be a failure. He stressed the need to replace it with a better alternative. He said other countries have been flexible in dealing with COVID- 19, while Kuwait still lacks a clear vision and integrated plan in this regard. MP Hesham Al-Saleh called for facilitating procedures for citizens, especially during the travel season. He recommended exempting citizens from paying for PCR test and canceling the ‘Mosafer’ platform registration requirement.

Confirmed
MP Bader Al-Humaidi confirmed that DGCA Chairman Sheikh Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabah promised to cancel the aforementioned requirement as soon as possible. MP Abdullah Al-Mudaf asked Minister of Defense Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali about the rationale behind the decision requiring citizens to input a lot of personal information on the platform. He wants to know if such personal data can be leaked through the platform. In another development, MP Khalid Al-Anzi asked Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Abdulrahman Badah Al-Mutairi to refer the team behind a television program aired by Channel 2 Kuwait TV for investigation.

He pointed out that the program depicted Prophets — Peace Be Upon Them — inappropriately and without consulting the concerned religious institutions. He vowed to follow up the steps that Al-Mutairi will take regarding the issue. On the other hand, MP Mehalhal Al-Mudaf forwarded queries to Minister of Oil and Higher Education Muhammad Al-Fares about the harmful gas from Zour and Doha power plants. He wants to know when was the last time the quantity of harmful gas emitted by these power plants was measured, available solutions to stop the emission of harmful gas, and measures taken by the Environment Public Authority (EPA) to prevent such pollution.

He requested for copies of the most recent decisions issued by EPA in this regard. He also submitted questions to the same minister about the internal and overseas scholarship programs. He asked if these scholarships include specializations which are not needed by the local labor market according to the Civil Service Commission (CSC), number of students in each specialization in every country and university, total cost of scholarships for the unnecessary specializations, number of beneficiaries, cost of each scholarship starting from the student‘s registration until graduation, if any unnecessary specialization was added to the plan despite the declaration of the CSC in this regard, and if the ministry has a plan to remove unnecessary specializations.

He requested for a copy of such plan, if any. MP Abdulaziz Al-Saqaabi asked Minister of Health Dr Basel Al-Sabah about the alleged mass resignation of expatriate doctors, nurses and health practitioners. He demanded for a list of expatriates who have resigned since April 2020, including their nationalities and jobs as well as copies of their employment contracts. He also inquired about the number, nationalities and qualifications of medical staff hired during the COVID-19 crisis. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff