KUWAIT CITY, Oct 24: Head of the Kuwaiti parliamentary delegation to the 147th International Parliaments Union (IPU) Assembly MP Muhammad Al-Mahan walked out of the session hall during the speech of IPU President Duarte Pachecho who expressed support for the Israeli attacks on Gaza. The delegation included Kuwait’s Inter-Parliamentary Group Treasurer MP Hamad Al- Obaid and member MP Fahd Falah Bin Jame’e.

The IPU Assembly is being held in Angola from Oct 23 to 27 with the theme: “Parliamentary Action for Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions”. The Kuwaiti delegation submitted a proposal to hold an emergency IPU Assembly to discuss the ongoing violent acts in Gaza, Palestine. Meanwhile, the parliamentary committee tasked to investigate violations in the distribution of industrial and craft plots met with representatives of the State Audit Bureau (SAB) on Tuesday. They discussed the report of SAB for fiscal 2022/2023, particularly the comments or observations against the Public Authority for Industry (PAI). They also talked about the committee’s report on the issue, which will be presented to the National Assembly at the beginning of the upcoming session.

In addition, the Education, Culture and Guidance Affairs Committee on Tuesday discussed the Media Bill submitted by the Ministry of Information in the presence of Minister of Information, Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi; senior officials at the Ministry of Information; and representatives of Kuwait University (from the College of Law and College of Arts - Mass Media Department.

On the other hand, MP Fahd Falah Bin Jame’e forwarded queries to all ministers about the procedures they adopted for renting buildings from the private real estate sector. He wants to know the number of buildings rented and the amount of rent paid annually by every ministry. He requested for copies of rent contracts signed by every ministry and their subsidiaries from Jan 1, 2020 till date. He inquired if the rent procedures are completed by the ministries or by certain committees. If the procedures are completed by committees, he asked about the criteria in forming such committees and demanded for copies of the minutes of relevant meetings. He wants to know if the ministries are conducting studies to dispose the rented buildings and replace them with permanent buildings owned by each ministry in order to save public money. He then requested for copies of the comments or observations recorded by SAB about the rent contracts and the response of the ministries.

MP Jenan Bu Shehri asked Minister of Justice and Housing Affairs Faleh Al-Raqaba if the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) has contacted the Legal Advice and Legislation Department to request for its definition of the term ‘local or national product’. If yes, she requested for copies of all relevant correspondences. She wants to know if there are contradictions in the procedures adopted based on the department’s definition.

MP Hamad Al-Medlej asked Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research Adel Al-Mane’e to provide him with the number of Kuwaiti students who graduated from the secondary stage in the last five years classifying them according to their grades, the number of Kuwaiti students who enrolled at Kuwait University in the last five years, and number of Kuwaiti students facing problems in completing their studies in medical colleges in the last five years classifying them into those who studied in public, private and other schools. He also wants to know the criteria for the recruitment of university staff.

MP Hamad Al-Matar forwarded queries to Minister of Finance Fahd Al-Jarallah about the number and names of companies that transferred one percent of their annual profits to the ministry as per Zakat Law number 46/2006. He wants to know the total amount collected, the share of every company, and the way of spending the collected Zakat in the last five years.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh
Arab Times/Al-Seyassah Staff