Kuwait gov’t efforts focused on digitization, tackling corruption, says PM

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KUWAIT, Dec 2: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said his government has worked to boost integrity, digital transformation and tackling corruption through increased governance and accountability.

The prime minister made the remarks in an address at a ministerial forum, under his patronage and presence, aimed to brief the public on the achievements of the current government held at Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Centre.

The publically broadcasted event was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Anas Khaled Al-Saleh and a number of ministers and senior state officials.
He indicated that the national framework for governance, in spite of the government’s 11 month and a half lifespan, has witnessed the referral of 57 cases of public fund and 1,042 state property violations.

This framework was formed under the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the minister said, which urges cooperation between legislative and executive branches of authority.
Other matters included the government’s digital transformation plans and efforts to complete public utility projects in spite of the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The government formed 24 committees and working groups that delivered 300 recommendations and 400 decisions and took 800 procedures during this period.

As for health crisis management, this included organising the largest repatriation of nationals, an endeavor which brought together 13 entities and 12,000 employees and volunteers.

Some 185 flights from 58 destinations were completed, with one million kilometers travelled at a rate of 1,750 hours.

Food security was another challenge, he added, particularly in light of the closure of ports and airports.

During this period, the government worked to ease the delivery of food, to stabilize prices and to support price differences in freight rates for products not to be expensive for consumers.

Kuwait was also keen not to abandon its humanitarian role and continued its international efforts, as a recognized center for humanitarian work led by the late Amir, the leader of humanitarian work, by assisting the needs of neighboring and faraway countries of the world.

Meanwhile, the Kuwait Investment Authority has been doing “excellent work” in the wake of the pandemic, he said.

As for frontliners, some 154,000 male and female healthcare professionals participated, 9,000 of whom suffered COVID-19 infection and 42 of whom died as a result. Some 10,000 volunteers also put their lives at risk, he said.
The prime minister expressed his sincere gratitude and appreciation for their efforts, along with the contributions of security, defense and firefighting services, the Kuwait National Guard, civil defense, inspection and emergency teams, the oil sector, civil society institutions, the Union of Cooperative Societies.

He went on to reiterate the importance of adhering to COVID-19 measures and guidelines.
With only four days left until a new government is ushered in after parliamentary elections, he said Kuwait’s “affairs are stable and our health system is coherent and capable of providing all the required health requirements for male and female voters, but they must adhere to these health requirements.”

As for the coming period, he said Kuwait’s vaccination plan was made two months ago.
Kuwait was among the first countries to have tabled bids for these vaccines, he mentioned, reiterating that the vaccination campaign, which will be offered to both nationals and residents free of charge, would begin at the end of this month or early next year.
The campaign will continue until the end of 2021, however, he underlined the importance of continuing to adhere to health measures.(KUNA)

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