KUWAIT CITY, July 27: MP Bader Al-Humaidi forwarded queries to Minister of Defense Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali in his capacity as the official who oversees Kuwait International Airport and civil aviation operations. He said Al-Anba daily published a report that citizens who are more than 75 years old are not allowed to travel because the insurance companies have refused to issue travel insurance for them. He asserted this is a violation of Article 11 of the Constitution: “The State shall guarantee assistance to citizens in their old age, in sickness or in disability. It shall also provide them with social insurance services, social help and medical care.” He asked if the aforementioned report is correct. If yes, he wants to know the steps taken by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation against the insurance companies.

MP Ali Al-Qattan asked Minister of Health Dr Basel Al-Sabah about the citizens and expatriates with chronic psychiatric and mental diseases as they are considered dangerous to the society. He requested for details like the number of citizens and expatriates suffering from the abovementioned diseases; number of such patients in every governorate; number of patients staying permanently in Kuwait Center for Mental Diseases; number of patients undergoing treatment at home; number of patients who visit Kuwait Center for Mental Diseases regularly -- daily, monthly or annually; total expenditures of the center in the last three years; number of doctors and nurses in the center; number of vacancies; if the ministries of Health and Interior have coordinated their efforts to determine the patients who might be dangerous to others and protect them in order to prevent them from harming themselves or others; and if not, reasons for not taking such step.

On the other hand, MP Khalid Al-Otaibi forwarded queries to Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Essa Al-Salman on the decision issued by the Board of Directors of Kuwait Competition Protection Agency (KCPA) to suspend the new salary scale for the employees at the agency. He inquired about the legal basis of the decision, if the board consulted the Civil Service Commission (CSC) before issuing the decision, if the Ministry of Finance approved the salary scale, if the agency added items to the budget after the approval of the parliamentary Budgets and Final Accounts Committee. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff