KUWAIT CITY, March. 8: The legislative and executive authorities stressed on Tuesday the need to find job opportunities for the national labor force and solve the problem of unemployment among Kuwaiti citizens.
Members of Parliament voted against discussions on the case of stateless (Bedoun) residents during the first parliamentary session after a month long-break and the case of Kuwaiti unemployment was reviewed instead. However, the session was adjourned before voting on recommendations to curb the national unemployment rate, due to lack of quorum, and the vote is expected to take place on Wednesday. 

Speaking on the issue, MPs condemned the government for the rising expatriate labor force within the public sector and stressed on the need to create job opportunities for citizens in the private sector.
On his part, MP Ali Al-Deqbasi proposed ten recommendations that include encouraging early retirement for government employees, in order to create more job opportunities for Kuwaiti youth. He said that there are 60,000 expatriate employees in the public sector who hold secondary school and university degree qualifications, according to 2008 statistics.

Therefore, Al-Deqbasi continued, it is necessary to create a mechanism that replaces expatriates with national employees who hold the same qualifications, noting that there are training programs by the Civil Services Bureau that qualify new university graduates. He recommended creating awareness on the importance of national employment through parental education and the media.

Furthermore, a number of MPs requested the government to create a 25-year-long national strategy to find alternative job opportunities for unemployed citizens, keeping in mind the current and future market of graduates. They stressed on the need to create a system that gives jobs to citizens in the private sector, gives support to the establishment of small-sized business as well as privatizes a number of public sector projects.

Meanwhile, the state’s Civil Services Bureau outlined its strategies to revamp the national labor force by encouraging Kuwaitis to join non-governmental institutions through allowances and training. 
Tuesday’s session took off by swearing in the new Minister of Interior, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Humoud. Moreover, MP Jamaan Al-Harbash resigned from the Women and Social Affairs Committee and MP Adnan Al-Mutawa was promoted into the committee instead.

Speaker of Parliament, Jassem Al-Khorafi, held a vote on a request to allocate two hours to review a parliamentary report on the civil rights of the Bedoun population. However, 30 MPs out of a 48 member quorum voted against the request.

MP Adel Al-Sarawwy said that “the rights of Kuwaitis come before the rights of non-Kuwaitis”, after which an argument ensued between MPs that prompted the speaker to adjourn the session for 15 minutes.
Speaking on the sidelines of the session, MPs condemned the government for wasting the session by not supporting the rights of stateless residents. Head of the Human Rights Committee, MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan, warned that Bedoun issues are a “ticking time bomb” set to explode at any moment and it is up to the government to maintain the security of Kuwait and its citizens by implementing viable solutions for the Bedoun.

He added that the government has promised to issue decisions on the case before March 8, but has yet to do so. On his part, MP Adnan Al-Mutawa feared that the issue of stateless residents will be used by some to fuel political unrest, especially since the Bedoun have yet to receive their civil and legal rights apart from citizenship.

Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) reported on Tuesday that the central committee tasked with the issue of illegal residents in Kuwait has begun executing procedures, to practically and effectively solve problems pertaining to this sect of the society, its Chairman Saleh Al-Fadhala said.

He noted that the committee has “made huge progress on the matter,” and is currently in contact with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Kuwait Society for the Handicapped, Ministry of Justice, and others to effectively put into implementation the initiative at hand.

Al-Fadhala added that these benefits will be provided according to fundamentals included in a research carried out by the committee, namely for residents of Kuwait since 1965 or before, siblings of Kuwaiti mothers, and military personnel.

Agencies add: The motion to grill former minister of interior Lt Gen Sheikh Jaber Al-Khalid Al-Sabah is void in view of the resignation and is thus crossed off the agenda, said Kuwait Parliament Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi on Monday.

The speaker was addressing the regular session of the Assembly and noted that in view of article 142 of the parliament’s standing order, the grilling motion loses legitimacy and should be crossed off the agenda.
The article states that “a grilling motion is null and void in case of the subject of the motion abdicating his post, of the termination of membership of presenter of the motion, and of the end of the legislative term.”
The speaker later announced success in preventing the resignation of MP Hussein Al-Qallaf.
The MP meanwhile expressed his gratitude to the speaker, His Highness the Amir, and to MPs and citizens who pleaded he maintain his membership.