KUWAIT CITY, Sept 19: MP Marzouq Al-Hebeini has forwarded queries to Minister of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Jaseem Al-Ostad about the arrest of a gang that hacked the electronic systems in the ministry.

He asked if the gang members include current or former ministry employees or those under the sponsorship of the companies that signed contracts with the ministry, list of companies and copies of contracts if the response is in the affirmative, if the usernames of officials were used to hack the systems and if these officials processed illegal transactions.

MP Khalid Al-Tamar asked Minister of State for Municipal and Communication Affairs Fahd Al-Shulah if licenses were granted to Red Bull Mobile operator in the last three months. If yes, he demanded for copies of the licenses and value of the contract. He also inquired if Red Bull Mobile published promotion advertisements before obtaining the licenses, if complaints were filed against it, measures that the Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) took regarding the complaints, copy of the decree issued by the Council of Ministers to form the Board of Directors of CITRA including the positions occupied by the members in the last five years, if any of them are board members of other entities
or if they serve as consultants in other companies. He requested for copies of the decisions of the Council of Ministers specifying the salaries and allowances of CITRA’s board members.

MP Muhammad Al-Mahan asked Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research Adel Al-Mane about the plan of the ministry to curb the spread of drugs among students; if the ministry has a strategy to raise awareness among youths and warn them about the devastating effects of drugs; and copy of the strategy if the answer is ‘yes’.

He also forwarded queries to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Talal Khalid Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah about the strategy of the ministry in fighting against drugs; number of citizens and expatriates accused of trafficking and possessing drugs since Jan 1, 2015 till date; reasons behind the spread of drugs; and measures taken to eliminate this social menace.

He asked the health minister about the strategy to prevent the spread of drugs, number of individuals undergoing treatment for drug addiction and other related health conditions in public and private hospitals and clinics since Jan 1, 2015 till date; number of drug-related deaths; and if there is a plan to establish clinics and centers for drug addiction treatment.

MP Dawoud Maarefi forwarded queries to Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Salem Al-Sabah about the number of employees under contracts at the ministry classifying them into citizens, children of Kuwaiti women married to foreigners, Bedouns and expatriates.

He wants to know the actual manpower needs of the ministry, number of nationals appointed since 2020 till date, number of vacant supervisory posts, if they have been advertised, number of national and expatriate consultants at the offices of the minister, undersecretary and assistant undersecretaries.

MP Mubarak Al-Tasha asked Minister of Justice and State Minister for Housing Affairs Faleh Al-Raqaba if any of the courts ruled against any of the ministers since the issuance of decree number 116/2023 on the formation of the current government on June 18, 2023. If yes, he wants to know which court issued the ruling — First Instance, Appeals or Cassation, and list of concerned ministers.

He asked Minister of Commerce and Industry and State Minister for Youth Affairs Muhammad Al-Aiban about the number of consultants in the ministry and its subsidiaries including their nationalities, qualifications, salaries, allowances, job performance assessment in the last five years, committees they joined, training courses they passed and official tasks.

He inquired about the measures taken to oversee the lotteries organized by banks and malls to promote their products, list of lotteries held in the last five years including the names of winners and their nationalities, names of the members of the committee tasked to attend the lotteries, copies of the committee’s report on each lottery including violations if any, number of individuals who won more than once since Jan 1, 2018 till date, legal action if any, and if the ministry or Consumer Protection Department received complaints about lotteries in the last five years.

MP Hasan Jawhar asked Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Talal Khalid Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah about the reasons behind the delayed completion of the traffic safety project, which was included in the development plan for fiscal 2020/2021 and was supposed to be completed in fiscal 2021/2022. He wants to know if the ministry questioned those tasked to complete the project, action taken against them if the answer is ‘yes’, reasons for not taking action if the answer is ‘no’, and completion percentage of the project as at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2023/2024.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh, Arab Times Staff