11/07/2024
11/07/2024
KUWAIT CITY, July 11: As part of the government measures aimed at strengthening oversight and emphasizing the principles of the rule of law, protection of public funds, accountability, and in confirmation of the slogan “No one is above the law”, the Audit Bureau revealed -- in its report on “sustainability” for the year 2023 -- that it had filed 17 lawsuits against 42 officials in several ministries and government agencies to the Disciplinary Trials Authority from January to December 5, 2023.
The court stated in its report -- a copy of which was obtained by Al-Seyassah -- that the lawsuits were distributed as follows -- one lawsuit for the Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Company, and 13 lawsuits for ministries.
The Ministry of Health had the lion’s share of them with a total of 5 lawsuits, followed by the Ministry of Social Affairs with four lawsuits, then the Ministry of Public Works (two lawsuits), one for the Ministry of Education and the same for the Ministry of Information. The report pointed out that the court issued 17 decisions regarding the lawsuits, including 12 acquittal decisions and 5 conviction decisions and explained that the Disciplinary Trials Authority is a disciplinary council stipulated by Law No. (30) of 1964 establishing the Bureau, which is responsible for questioning and prosecuting those accused of committing financial violations in the entities subject to the oversight of the Audit Bureau, and deciding on the validity of the accusations and financial violations directed at them in line with the Central Administration of Statistics, the Public Authority for Combating Corruption (Nazaha). The Capital Markets Authority obtained the first places in applying governance principles, according to the same report. The report revealed that the study it conducted included 68 government institutions, including 30 ministries and government departments, 21 public bodies with an independent budget, and 17 public institutions with an independent budget.
By Mohammad Ghanem and Mohammad Al-Musleh
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff