KUWAIT CITY, Aug 23: MP Abdulaziz Al-Saqaabi forwarded queries to Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Muhammad about the report that British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) published on May 15, 2017 regarding BAE Systems; which allegedly sold spying applications violating the privacy of individuals to some countries.

Al-Saqaabi requested for clarification about the report. If it is true, he wants to know the reasons behind signing a contract with such a company for Kuwait’s biggest cybersecurity project. He inquired about the legal basis for signing a contract with the company to provide applications which can be used to spy on individuals. He asked if the ministry floated a public tender in this regard. If yes, he demanded for copies of the relevant documents. He also wants to know the total cost of the contract, if the ministry coordinated with other concerned institutions like the Ministry of Public Works and Central agency for Information Technology.

If yes, he requested for copies of the relevant correspondences and minutes of meetings. Deputy National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al-Shuhoumi received in his office Kuwaiti engineer Jenan Shehab who won the gold award in the World Genius Convention for her wireless energy invention. Al-Shuhoumi also met student Ghala Al-Anzi -- one of the top 10 programmers in the global competition held recently in India. He praised both winners, stressing that they represent the best among the Kuwaiti youths who proved their creativity and deserve all means of support. MP Bader Al-Humaidi forwarded queries to Minister of Interior Sheikh Thamer Ali Al-Sabah about the mechanism for receiving and checking citizenship applications since 1995 till date, categories of those granted citizenship from 1995 till date, requirements for obtaining citizenship, if the ministry uncovered cases of forging citizenship, if any of the employees were involved in the forgery, if the ministry investigated the issue, results of investigations if the answer is yes, number and names of individuals who have obtained citizenship since 1995 till date, if they were granted citizenship according to the directives issued by higher political leaders or as per the regulations in this regard.

In addition, MP Fares Al-Otaibi criticized the recruitment procedures followed by Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS) to fill up vacant supervisory posts; describing the process as lacking transparency and biased. He said the job description, required qualifications and experience, members of the committee tasked to review applications, and procedures for appealing the recruitment results or filing a lawsuit in this regard were not mentioned in the advertisement regarding the vacant supervisory posts. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff