KUWAIT CITY, Dec 21: The parliamentary Digitalization Empowerment, Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Committee on Thursday discussed two bills about electronic transactions, and its task to tackle digitalization and cybersecurity issues. Representatives of the Justice Ministry, Central Agency for Information Technology (CAIT) and Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) attended the meeting. Meanwhile, MPs Adel Al-Damkhi and Shuaib Shaaban have submitted a proposal to allow civilians who applied as non-ranking officers at Kuwait Army and obtained higher studies certificates from Kuwait University or accredited universities to enroll in the academy for non-ranking officers in order to be appointed as staff sergeants.

On the other hand, MP Fahd Al- Masoud forwarded queries to Minister of Justice and State Minister for Housing Affairs Faleh Al-Raqaba about the number of reports on financial and administrative violations submitted to Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) in the last few years, number of cases referred to the Public Prosecution, steps that Nazaha has taken regarding these cases, and list of training courses that Nazaha organized to raise awareness on combating corruption in public institutions. The lawmaker also asked Minister of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy and acting Minister of Public Works Jassem Al-Ostad if the Ministry of Public Works has a plan to maintain the roads throughout the country. If yes, he wants to know the date of implementation, duration and total cost. He requested for copies of the relevant contracts, plan B if any, and regular road maintenance reports including the dates and road number. MP Mehalhal Al-Mudhaf asked Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State for National Assembly and Cabinet Affairs Essa Al-Kandari about the decisions on the secondment and reshuffling of consultants and lawyers in public institutions including those who were seconded more than once and the institutions where they were seconded from Jan 1, 2018 till date; amount of allowances and other privileges granted to them; and number of seconded officials from June 31, 2023 till date including the institutions that requested their services and their secondment term.

Al-Mudhaf also asked Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Salem Al- Sabah about the number of employees representing the ministry at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), subscription fees that the country pays to UNESCO, events and activities that the organization held in coordination with Kuwait this year, copy of the latest statistics issued by UNESCO on the number of children deprived of education in the country, ranking of Kuwait in the relevant index, if Kuwait joined the educational cities project, reasons if the answer is ‘no’, number of monuments recorded by UNESCO, if Kuwait requested the addition of new sites to the record, rank of Kuwait in the relevant index, and strategy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on increasing the number of Kuwaiti monuments registered in UNESCO. He forwarded the same queries to Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research Adel Al-Manea and Minister of Information, Endowments and Islamic Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi MP Abdulaziz Al-Saqaabi asked Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State for National Assembly and Cabinet Affairs Essa Al-Kandari about the dates for completing the study of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) on the establishment of the governmental training center, revision of the study by the Legal Advice and Legislation Department, approval of the study and referral of the relevant decree to the Council of Ministers, if the draft of the study includes the amendment of the CSC decree or it will be totally new. MP Muhammad Al-Mahan asked Minister of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy and acting Minister of Public Works Jassem Al-Ostad about the criteria and regulations adopted by the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy for the promotion of employees; number of supervisory positions filled from Jan 1, 2021 till date including the names, qualifications and experience of the promoted employees; number of vacancies that have yet to be filled and reasons for not filling them up; number of complaints filed by employees contesting promotion decisions; and measures taken to address these complaints. MP Meteb Ayed Al-Anzi asked Al Ostad about the number of employees appointed at the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) from June 1, 2023 till date including their names, job titles and qualifications. MP Abdulhadi Al-Ajmi asked Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Oil and State Minister for Economic and Investment Affairs Saad Al-Barrak about the number of non-Kuwaiti employees at the Wafra joint oilfields, reasons for appointing them despite the availability of qualified nationals, allowances and privileges granted to these expatriate employees, if it is true that the allowances of their Kuwaiti colleagues have been reduced, and training courses organized by Kuwait Gulf Oil Company (KGOC) for its Kuwaiti employees.

MP Khalid Al-Otaibi asked Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research Adel Al-Manea about the number of schools that were closed after discovering their buildings are unsafe, if the plan adopted by the ministry in the last 20 years included a strategy for the renovation of closed schools, budget allocated for the renovation of schools that were closed for more than 10 years, and amount of budget increase for this purpose in the last fiscal year compared to the preceding year.
By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff