KUWAIT CITY, Aug 18: The Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Economic Affairs and Investment Dr. Anwar Al-Mudhaf issued a decision to grant, under Decree Law No. 105/1980, judicial police status to the team members responsible for monitoring and removing encroachments on state properties in Kuwait Municipality.

The decision, which was published in the latest issue of the official gazette, includes five articles. The first article is related to granting the judicial police status to 48 employees of Kuwait Municipality to monitor encroachments on state properties. The names and titles of the nominated employees were included in a table attached to the article. The second article of the ministerial resolution specified seven powers for Municipality employees covered by the resolution.

They are:
■ Controlling crimes related to encroachment on state real estate by either destroying it, vandalizing it, making it unfit to be used for purposes other than those designated for it, or reducing its value or benefit, and issuing reports regarding this matter
■ Having the right to enter state real estate and the headquarters of the projects established on it, following the issuance of a decision to vacate it administratively, inspect it completely, and inventory it completely.
■ Entering the headquarters of the administration offices for projects established on state real estate, after the end of the specified period for their use or after their contracts have been terminated, reviewing the documents contained therein related to the management of the project, seizing them, and issuing reports regarding this matter.
■ Reviewing information related to financial data such as records, books, documents, database,s or any other means for storing financial data for projects established on state real estate, and preserving them, and issuing reports regarding this matter.
■ Having the right to obtain any information related to the management of these projects upon request from the project management. In the event of closed doors in the project, the Kuwait Municipality’s employees can request the project management to open them. If they refuse, he has the right to open them by force.
■ Inventorying, confining, and seizing the belongings, documents, files, fixed and movable funds of the projects established on state property of all kinds and contracted by the ministry, and transferring what is necessary to the ministry’s warehouses.

Article three of the decision highlighted the obligation of all officials in all projects to submit all data and documents required for employees covered by the decision to exercise their powers. Article four of the decision mandates that a judicial control officer prepare an official report documenting all actions taken, including transferring, examining, seizing, and addressing cases of non-compliance or lack of cooperation from project management. The report must include the date, time, and location of its preparation, the name and signature of the officer, and a summary of the events encountered during the task.

By Inaas Awadh
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff and Agencies