KUWAIT CITY, Jan 3: MP Badr Nashmi Al-Anzi has submitted a proposal to allow Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis to obtain family visas for their non-Kuwaiti children as long as the mother is alive. He suggested that there should be no age limit for the beneficiaries of the proposal and that they should be exempted from the health insurance fees.

MP Osama Al-Shaheen submitted a proposal for the Central Bank of Kuwait to publish the names of the owners of inactive bank accounts in the Kuwait Gazette and grant them a grace period to contact the banks. Once the grace period ends, the deposits in inactive accounts whose owners did not respond will be transferred to charitable organizations as donations to be distributed to the needy in the country.

Meanwhile, The Environment, Food, and Water Security Affairs Committee on Wednesday discussed the assignment given by the National Assembly to investigate the reasons behind the participation of Kuwait in Doha Horticultural Exhibition EXPO 2023. Present at the meeting were representatives of the Ministry of Finance, State Audit Bureau (SAB), and Environment Public Authority (EPA). The Family, Women, and Children Affairs Committee on Wednesday met with representatives of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Education, Supreme Council for Family Affairs, Civil Service Commission (CSC), and Public Authority for Manpower (PAM). They talked about the enforcement of the laws on protection from family violence and the rights of children, as well as following up on the issuance of the executive regulations for both laws.

On the other hand, MP Abdulhadi Al-Ajmi forwarded queries to Minister of Communications, Endowments and Islamic Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi regarding ministerial Decision No. 95/2022 and 96/2022 on the two-year suspension of the written exams for those applying for supervisory and teaching posts in the educational sector, as well as the recruitment of new employees in the departments and centers concerned with the Holy Quran and Islamic Studies. He wants to know why these decisions were applied only on the teaching posts, excluding the supervisory positions; if new teachers were hired after the issuance of the decision to suspend the written exams; recruitment criteria adopted if the answer is ‘yes’; and if the employees who complained about the results of exams taken before the issuance of the decision were appointed after hearing their complaints.

MP Hamad Al-Matar asked Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Talal Khalid Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah about the reasons behind the closure of Sulaibikhat Police Station even if it is badly needed to maintain security in the area, especially since many bachelors are residing there. He wants to know the alternative police station, and the number of cases and security reports filed in Doha in the last five years. MP Muhammad Al-Hewaila forwarded queries to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil, Economic and Investment Affairs Saad Al-Barrak; Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research Adel Al-Manea; Minister of Commerce and Industry and State Minister for Youth Affairs Mohammad Al-Aiban; Minister of Information, Endowments and Islamic Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi; Minister of Finance Fahd Al-Jarallah; Minister of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy and acting Minister of Public Works Jassem Al- Ostad; Minister of State for Municipal and Communication Affairs Fahad Al-Shaulah; Minister of Justice and State Minister for Housing Affairs Faleh Al-Raqaba; Minister of Health Ahmed Al-Awadhi; and Minister of Social Affairs and State Minister for Family, Women and Children Affairs Sheikh Feras Al-Sabah. He wants to know the measures each ministry takes to complete the public facilities in Wafra Residential Area, number of ongoing projects, the number of completed projects, cost of each project, and target completion dates for the ongoing projects.

MP Fahd Falah Bin Jame’e asked HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah about the number of vacant senior positions in the ministries and public institutions. MP Jarrah Al-Fawzan asked Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research Adel Al-Manea to provide him with the names and number of consultants at the ministry, if any of them requested to appoint certain individuals to supervisory positions, if any of the consultants have been subjected to disciplinary action, if the consultants are authorized to interfere in the executive functions of departments at the Ministry of Education.

MP Muhammad Hayef asked Minister of Commerce and Industry and State Minister for Youth Affairs Mohammad Al-Aiban about ministerial Decision No. 67/2020 issued on March 11, 2020 to fix the prices of commodities and consider the prices specified before the issuance of the decision as the maximum, which should not be increased unless a new decision in this regard is issued. He cited the decision highlighting the penalties stated in Law No. 117/2013 against whoever manipulates the prices of commodities; including the confiscation of commodities, and then sells them in the outlets specified by the ministry. He wants to know if the ministerial decision is still valid.

If yes, why did the Consumer Cooperative Societies Union issue a decision to increase the prices of some basic foodstuff? Was the decision taken through the coordination of the union and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry? What measures have been taken regarding the increase in prices and if the commodities whose prices increased were determined? Did the concerned department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry object to the price hike decision? If yes, he demanded copies of all the relevant correspondences. In addition, National Assembly Speaker Ahmed Al-Saadoun presided over the meeting of the Assembly Office recently, during which they decided to terminate all the expatriate, Bedoun, and Kuwaiti employees at the National Assembly TV under the wages item. They also decided to limit the television’s activity to broadcasting news. The Office is expected to take another decision later -- to continue the Assembly TV operation or close it.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff