Al-Ghanim says still waiting for concerned ministers to hold press confab

KUWAIT CITY, March 7: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim expressed gratitude to the Cabinet for responding to calls for suspension of flights to and from countries with rising number of coronavirus cases, while stressing the need to implement the decision properly.

Al-Ghanim said he is still waiting for the concerned ministers to hold a press conference to respond to questions and reveal facts to guarantee the safety of citizens and expatriates. He also reiterated his gratitude to the medical and technical teams for their tremendous efforts in confronting coronavirus.

In a related development, a number of MPs, including Ahmed Al-Fadl and Safa’a Al-Hashem, praised the decision of the government to suspend flights to and from countries where coronavirus cases have been discovered.

Meanwhile, MP Saleh Al-Ashour pointed out such flights are suspended only for one week; while the crisis is expected to continue until the holy month of Ramadan. He urged the government to issue a clear statement to reassure citizens about the situation once the one-week suspension of flights ends.

On the other hand, MP Dr Khalil Abul submitted queries to Minister of Oil, Electricity and Water Dr Khalid Al-Fadel on the tender floated by Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC) for oil exploration and maintenance of oil wells at the joint operations zone. He disclosed KGOC selected a foreign company, instead of a Kuwaiti company which offered KD24 million lower than the winning company.

Abul demanded for the list of companies which participated in the tender and the offer of each company. He asked if KGOC is aware that the winning company will forward the tender to a subcontractor since the project exceeds its capacity.

He wants to know the entity tasked to check and evaluate offers, and then choose the best offer. He inquired if this process met the provisions and conditions laid down by the Supreme Petroleum Council.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff