KUWAIT CITY, Sept 18: While the support of parliamentarians is being sought for the approval of a proposal to increase the number of constituencies from five to ten, MPs Saadoun Hammad Al-Otaibi and Maasouma Al-Mubarak have rejected the idea, saying the five-constituency system needs to be given time to show results, reports Al-Anba daily. Al-Otaibi and Al-Mubarak are of the opinion that this system will display its merits over a period of time, in a manner similar to the ten-constituency and twenty-five constituency systems. Al-Otaibi said he is actually looking to seek approval for a single constituency system, adding his proposal on the same was earlier approved by the Legislative Committee but was not voted for at the National Assembly. He added a reduced number of constituencies will make the process of vote-buying difficult.
Vote-buying
Meanwhile, Al-Mubarak said the issue of vote-buying does not depend on the number of constituencies, but on the procedure by which a voter selects his candidate.
On the other hand, MP Maasouma Al-Mubarak announced the finalization of a list of issues that will be given high priority at the National Assembly, adding the situation of the stateless persons (Bedouns) is one of the main issues of concern, reports Al-Rai daily.
Al-Mubarak said many of these issues will be discussed in March next year after reports on each topic are prepared by the concerned committee.
Al-Mubarak added reports that are not completed on time by the committees will be postponed to another date. She said a meeting will be held on Sept 30 to discuss cooperation with government on this matter. She also said the first session to discuss these issues will be held on Nov 2, 2009.
Al-Mubarak stated employee performance appraisals will take place in January next year, adding that a draft law for labor at the private sector will be the first priority of the parliament.
Al-Mubarak went on to say the 5-year fiscal plan is also among the top priorities of the parliament, but a date to discuss the issue has not yet been decided as the Finance Committee has not finalized studies on the issue.
Meanwhile, MP Ali Al-Rashid has predicted an early dissolution of the National Assembly, while he expressed pessimism about activities of the National Assembly, reports Al-Rai daily.
Democracy
He made this assertion Wednesday during a seminar which was organized by Najla Al-Naqi on the Meshrif sewage plant crisis, and the swine flu scourge. He affirmed that Kuwaiti democracy is under a serious threat and wished 2010 passes without crisis.
He lamented the foul smell emanating from the Meshrif Sewage Plant has resulted from personal interests of officials during signing of the contract, and lack of supervision by the Ministry of Public Works.
He said the Meshrif scandal has exposed some officials, who are behind the calamity which could be destructive to the society, and demanded those officials be probed.
“It’s a pity we always wait for crisis to happen before finding solutions, just as the Meshrif incident was due to lackluster attitude of some officials, and I wonder who will be responsible for the KD 70,000,000 which is required for the maintenance”, the lawmaker said.
In the meantime, some MPs are expected to launch attack on the Minister of Interior Sheikh Jaber Al-Khalid Al-Sabah for rejecting their involvement during approval of the next batch of persons to be granted Kuwaiti citizenship in November, reports Al-Shahid daily.
The daily added many Shiite MPs wanted to add some names of people for naturalization which Sheikh Jaber refused, and emphasized all the names are being investigated through concerned departments.
The daily quoted a source as saying one MP expressed disagreement over Sheikh Jaber’s action and swore to address the issue in the media.