Expat hires at Commerce in focus

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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 28: The previous administration of the National Fund for Supporting Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) failed to meet expectations as manifested in the lack of jobs for Kuwaiti youths, says MP Omar Al-Tabtabaei.

While pointing out that the fund is supposed to be the main portal of support for Kuwaiti youths, Al-Tabtabaei disclosed he submitted parliamentary queries on the fund’s procedures and work mechanism. He then stressed the need for the fund to respond to these questions. He also called for reforms and urged the fund to follow the right path to serve its purpose.

Meanwhile, MP Mubarak Al-Hajraf has unveiled his plan to forward questions to Minister of Commerce and Industry and State Minister for Youth Affairs Khaled Al-Roudhan about the procedures for appointing expatriates in the ministry.

He wants to know the legal basis for appointing expatriate consultants at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry from 2016 to 2017, nature of their work and their achievements. He inquired about the entities under the supervision of the ministry, bonuses allocated for the consultants, and if the ministry obtained approval from the Civil Service Commission and other relevant agencies before appointing the expatriate consultants.

Furthermore, MP Mohammed Al-Dalal sent a letter to National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim requesting the Budgets and Final Accounts Committee to speed up deliberations on reports of the State Audit Bureau (SAB). He asked the Speaker to convey his message in the session slated for Jan 9, 2018.

In his letter, Al-Dalal explained the committee had earlier investigated irregularities uncovered by oversight agencies, especially SAB, at the Ministry of Interior for fiscals 2014/2015 and 2015/2016. He said the committee asked the bureau to prepare a comprehensive report on the violations, affirming the report was submitted to the Assembly and published in local newspapers recently. He added the ministry formed a commission of inquiry and the latter submitted a report to the Assembly.

He pointed out the abovementioned reports highlighted financial and administrative irregularities in the ministry such as misappropriation and wastage of public funds. Therefore, he asked the Assembly to instruct the Budgets and Final Accounts Committee to finalize discussions on the reports within 30 days. He said the committee must submit its report to the Assembly, detailing technical and legal opinions and recommendations regarding the irregularities. If proven true, those behind such irregularities should be referred to the Public Prosecution, he asserted. He went on to say the committee’s report must include ways to tighten financial control and develop financial systems, stressing such recommendations should be in accordance with the Constitution and the law.

By Abubakar A. Ibrahim Arab Times Staff

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