KUWAIT CITY, Dec 20: The negligence of the authorities tasked to monitor the distribution of food products in the local market, such as the ministries of Commerce, Health and Municipality, led to the spread of spoilt meat and other food items in the country, says MP Ghanem Al-Mai’e.
The lawmaker slammed the ministries for their failure to strictly implement the Food Safety Law, monitor food shops, take any action on the rising food poisoning cases in hospitals, and improve work procedures in laboratories in charge of checking food products purchased from other countries.  
Calling for the speedy approval of a draft bill on the establishment of a public authority for food, Al-Mai’e confirmed the proposal is included in the priority lists of the executive and legislative authorities.  He said the Parliament will discuss the bill on Feb 23, 2011, adding the authority will closely monitor the distribution of food products purchased in other countries to prevent greedy traders from tampering with the expiry dates.

Emphasizing the need to quickly take the necessary action against any trader who sells spoilt products, Al-Mai’e argued the concerned authorities must impose harsher penalties, such as huge fine, imprisonment and permanent closure of stores, on those who violate the Food Safety Law to serve as a deterrent to others and to protect public health. He believes the cancellation of licenses is not enough to stop greedy traders from putting human lives in danger.  

In another development, MP Naji Al-Abdulhadi has presented a draft bill on granting interest-free loans to government employees.

Al-Abdulhadi explained the whole world recently experienced an economic crisis, as well as a steady rise in the prices of commodities and services; thereby adding to the financial burdens of most people, some have no option but to obtain loans to cope with the rising cost of living in the country. He decided to submit a proposal to grant interest-free loans to ease the financial burdens of government employees.
Article One of the bill states the loan amount should not be more than 10 times the basic salary of the borrower and should be paid in equal installments for five years. The non-Kuwaiti government employees can also avail of this loan provided they are entitled to the end-of-service financial package (indemnity). In such cases, the loan amount must not exceed the total indemnity as of the date of applying for the loan.

Article Two stipulates the loan must be paid in equal installments for not more than five years, during which the borrower cannot obtain another loan without paying the previous amount.
Article Three states the remaining installments will be taken from the public coffers in case the borrower dies.

 Article Four mandates the Ministry of Finance to release funds for this purpose.
Article Five states the prime minister and the ministers should execute this law and work with it from the date of its publication in the official gazette.

Also:
KUWAIT CITY: The deadline for His Highness the Premier to postpone the interpellation against him ends on December 28, National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi said Monday.
“Should HH Sheikh Nasser want to take the stand, then regulatory procedures would be carried on with as usual,” Al-Khorafi told reporters.
“I don’t think there will be a special session, as deadline of the interpellation is already set,” he pointed out.
On validity of showing slide pictures of recent events that took place in a number of gatherings and caused security havoc and political stand-offs, Al-Khorafi said “it’s too early to jump to conclusions. It depends on the material to be shown”.