Minister queried over malfunctioning of airport radar

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 3: MP Bader Al-Humaidi has submitted a proposal for cooperative societies to carry out garbage collection and cleaning works under the supervision of the Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies, instead of Kuwait Municipality. According to the proposal, the government will support cooperative societies by granting them subsidy and exempting the needed equipment from customs fees. He suggested that the collected waste should be dumped in specified locations and recycle certain waste as per decision number 139/ 2008 in coordination with the Municipality and Environment Public Authority (EPA).

On the other hand, MP Ahmed Mutei Al-Azmi forwarded queries to Minister of Defense Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali about the reasons why the radar at Kuwait International Airport malfunctioned twice. He wants to know the consequences of the breakdowns and cost of repair. He also asked Minister of Oil and Higher Education Dr Muhammad Al-Fares about the recruitment of graduates who passed the exams at Kuwait National Petroleum Corporation (KNPC). He wants to know why these graduates have not been appointed till date, number of vacancies for engineers at KNPC if any, if KNPC is implementing the replacement policy or not, and role of the minister in ensuring the educational outcomes meet the actual manpower needs of the labor market. In a related development, MP Mehalhal Al-Mudaf criticized the decision to renew the contracts of expatriate engineers at KNPC even if Kuwait Engineers Society did not accredit their certificates. He warned whoever is behind such a decision that “there will be a battle to protect the rights of Kuwaiti engineers.”

MP Saleh Zeib Al-Mutairi forwarded queries to the defense minister about the strategy and plans adopted by the Coronavirus Committee; including the names and specializations of the committee members, as well as the number and names of the experts tasked to manage crises and disasters in the government. He also asked Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Economic and Investment Affairs Khalifa Hamada about the number of lawsuits filed by employees at the Public Authority of Housing Welfare (PAHW) against the authority from 1990 to 2020. He requested for copies of court decisions regarding these cases and documents showing the decisions issued by the Administrative Section at the Court of Cassation. He wants to know why some court decisions have yet to be implemented and measures taken by Hamada who also serves as PAHW Board Chairman. He demanded for copies of cases filed by former consultant of the board chairman Dr Muhammad Al-Mutairi against the authority and cases that the board chairman filed against Al-Mutairi, including the final court decisions regarding these cases.

Meanwhile, MP Abdulkareem Al-Kandari urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to cancel the decision to limit the number of arriving passengers daily. He pointed out this decision led to a remarkable increase in the prices of flight tickets and cancellation of reservations. In addition, MP Abdulkareem Al-Kandari talked about the commemoration of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. He said Kuwait triumphed over the crisis after 31 years and reconciled with the countries which supported the invasion. He then stressed the need to push for national reconciliation for the exiled competent youths and former MPs to return home, taking into consideration that the only ‘crime’ they committed is to call for combating corruption. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff