KUWAIT CITY, Feb 12: The National Assembly will hold its ordinary sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday to continue discussing the MPs’ response to the Amiri speech during the inaugural session of the second year of the 17th parliamentary term. The Assembly will also deliberate on the following: - Work program of the government for the period starting from 2024 until 2027, - Incoming letters, - Report on the financial status of the Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) for fiscal 2019/2020, - Semi-annual report of Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) for fiscal 2020/2021.

Meanwhile, the reports of parliamentary committees about the bills were removed from the agenda, as per the request of the government to postpone the discussion of these reports for one month for further study. On the other hand, six parliamentary committees met on Monday to discuss various items in their agendas. The Complaints and Petitions Committee tackled the complaints of several citizens to find solutions in coordination with the concerned institutions. The Foreign Affairs Committee discussed the current regional and international issues. The Budgets and Final Accounts Committee discussed the estimated budget of the State for the next fiscal year, including the estimated revenues and the estimated budget under Chapter One: Salaries for Public Sector Employees.

The parliamentary committee tasked to investigate the items included in the grilling motions filed against former Minister of Public Works Amani Bugamaz continued their investigations in the presence of Bugamaz. The Financial and Economic Affairs Committee discussed five bills on adjusting fees for services. The Disabled Affairs Committee talked about its task to follow up of the enforcement of the Disabled Law by the Public Authority for Disabled Affairs (PADA) and other concerned institutions.

MPs Hamad Al-Matar, Hani Shams, Badr Nashmi, Mehalhal Al-Mudhaf and Saad Al-Khanfour sent an incoming letter to the Assembly to be included in the agenda of the session scheduled for Tuesday. They requested the Assembly to assign the Health, Social and Labor Affairs Committee to study the delayed registration of new medicines and medical equipment by the Ministry of Health. They pointed out that such a delay deprives the patients of their right to benefit from the new medicines and medical equipment made by the concerned companies and research centers. They said the committee’s report should include the procedures and average time needed for the registration of one new medicine, reasons behind the delay and recommendations to shorten the period.

MPs Osama Al-Shaheen, Hamad Al-Obaid, Badr Nashmi, Abdullah Fehad and Shuaib Shaaban submitted a bill on amending Housing Welfare Law No. 48/1993. The bill stipulates amending Clause One of Article 29bis to allow the citizens who sold their houses three times to obtain a housing loan from Kuwait Credit Bank (KCB). The current law states that only those who sold their houses once can obtain a housing loan from KCB. In another development, MP Muhammad Al- Mahan said he met with Chairman of the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) Hassan Al-Fagam to discuss the establishment of PAAET’s headquarters in the South. He affirmed that preparation of the tender for the project is ongoing.

He added an agreement was reached not to use the buildings of special needs schools as temporary headquarters, because these schools are needed. He also contacted Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education Anwar Al-Hamdan to inquire about the vacant schools in the South, which can be used as temporary headquarters for PAAET. He is following up the renewal of contracts for transporting students from the South to the schools in the other parts of country. MP Shuaib Shaaban forwarded queries to Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and acting Minister of Interior Sheikh Fahd Yusuf Al-Sabah about the latter’s visit to Al-Rabia Police Station on Feb 1, 2024. He asked if the minister ordered the detention of a securityman for being tardy, if this is a legal procedure and if the military personnel are imprisoned without investigation or trial. According to sources, Shaaban is preparing a two-point grilling motion against the minister; but the lawmaker has yet to confirm this.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff