KUWAIT CITY, July 17: Minister of Health Dr Jamal Al-Harbi, in a surprising move, approved the renewal of the contract with the Health Insurance Company for six months. Through such a step, he has contradicted the series of statements he issued in the previous phase.Ministry of Health renewed the contract, which was supposed to end by July 27, so that it will be valid until Jan 27, 2018. Informed sources said they are expecting the ministry to renew the contract with that company for maybe one more year due to the bureaucracy in the monitoring bodies for providing necessary approvals.They explained that the contract, as per article 2, can be renewed for a specific period as agreed upon by the two parties. Decision concerning the renewal should be made six months before the contract expires. The sources wondered whether Ministry of Health intentionally renewed the contract in violation to the second article or if the health minister renewed it secretly just before it expired while he declared in public that the contract will never be renewed.They indicated that the contract was renewed with no changes made to the provisions, as per which the cost of individual transaction is KD 1, and for VIP service is KD 4, with VIP services constituting 75 percent of the total transactions of the company. Meanwhile, MP Faraj Al-Arbeed submitted a number of parliamentary questions to Minister Dr Al-Harbi. He asked if the minister’s appointment of new employees in his office was in violation of the law or not, and if he appointed a number of retirees as consultants in his office.In addition, MP Al-Arbeed asked if the minister held a reshuffl e among the employees of his office who have been occupying those positions even before Dr Al-Harbi was appointed as the Minister of Health. By Marwa Al-Bahrawi Al-Seyassah Staff