KUWAIT CITY, Oct 8: MP Hamdan Al- Azmi revealed that he is preparing the format for a grilling motion that he will file against the Minister of Commerce and Industry Muhammad Al-Aiban. He affirmed that the grilling motion concerns important issues including conflict of interests, misuse of authority, and administrative and financial violations. MP Al-Azmi submitted parliamentary questions to the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs and the Minister of Information Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi, asking about the number of mosques in Kuwait, the number of mosques in each governorate and area, and the number of mosques under construction. He asked for details about the mosques under construction including the address, the date when the plots were allocated, and the date of construction contracts showing their term, value, percentage of achievement, and name of the contractor, as well as if any contracts are delayed as per the scheduled plan.

Al-Azmi asked about the procedures taken by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs against the violating contractors, and if any lawsuits have been filed by the ministry in this regard. He said he wanted to be provided with copies of all the contracts signed by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs with contractors for the maintenance of mosques from 2018 till date, and the amount of fines collected from the violating contractors, if any. The lawmaker asked if monitoring institutions had recorded any violations on the mosques’ maintenance contracts that were signed after 2018. If any, he wanted to know the procedures taken by the ministry to address those observations. If they have not been addressed, he wanted to know the reasons.

MP Al-Azmi also wanted to know the number of engineers assigned by the ministry to monitor the execution of construction and maintenance contracts, as well as their nationalities. Meanwhile, MP Hassan Jawhar sent invitations to his colleagues to attend a coordinating meeting scheduled to be held on Sunday, October 16 in the presence of the National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al Sa’adoun. MP Jawhar said the meeting is aimed at discussing the legislative priorities for the upcoming parliamentary term and approving them in a final form in a prelude to being referred to the joint parliament-government coordinating committee.

Furthermore, MP Dawoud Marafie submitted parliamentary questions to the Minister of Social Affairs and the State Minister for Family and Childhood Affairs Sheikh Fares Al-Sabah, asking about the number of workers in the ministry who have been appointed on contract basis, their wages, and details about how many among them are Kuwaitis, children of Kuwaiti women, illegal residents (Bedoun) and expatriates. He wanted to know the specific demands of the ministry for Kuwaiti workers, and how many of them have been appointed since 2020. MP Marafie asked if there were any vacancies in supervisory positions and if yes, he wanted to know the procedures taken by the ministry to fill them. The lawmaker also wanted to know the number of Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti consultants working in the minister’s office, the undersecretary’s office, and the offices of the assistant undersecretaries.

Also, MP Abdul Kareem Al-Kandari submitted a proposal to grant a national labor subsidy to Kuwaitis working in companies owned by the government without cutting any part of their current salaries. He explained that the proposal is aimed at enhancing justice. Kuwaiti employees in companies owned by the government are covered by the private sector labor law but are not subject to the regulations of the Civil Services Commission (CSC), due to which they obtain lower salaries compared to their colleagues working in the public sector. They also do not obtain a national labor subsidy like their colleagues working in the private sector.

In addition, the National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al- Saadoun received the Ambassador of Kuwait to Tanzania Mubarak Muhammad Al-Sehaijan. He also met with a delegation representing a number of public profit organizations. The delegation included the President of the Women’s Cultural Social Society Lulwa Al Mulla, Chairman of Kuwait Social Association Abdullah Al-Radhwan, Vice Chairman of Kuwait Alumni Association Muhammad Al-Fili, Vice Chairman of Kuwait Economic Society Muhammad Al-Jawa’an and the Chairperson of National Society for Child Protection Seham Al-Fraih. The delegation also included the President of the Kuwait Society for Information Security Safa’a Al-Zaman, the Chairperson of Kuwait Initiators and Entrepreneurs Association Ghadeer Al-Jumaa, the Chairperson of the Kuwait Society for Inventors Support Fatima Al-Thaleb, the Chairman of the Kuwait Association for Educational System Development Saleh Al-Anzi and the Chairman of the Kuwaiti Writers Association Humaidi Al-Mutairi.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff