Panel to mull fiscal deficit – MP keen to protect public money
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KUWAIT CITY, Oct 18: Chairman of the Finance and Economic Committee of the National Assembly MP Faisal Al-Shaye said the committee will meet representatives from the Ministry of Finance to discuss ways to finance the fiscal deficit in the state budget for the current fiscal year. He said the committee will meet soon after the current legislative term kicks off to discuss the mechanisms for the current fiscal. He explained there are three mechanisms to offset the deficit, which have yet to be discussed.
He said the mechanisms will be either through the issuance of securities from local banks or through direct borrowing from local banks, or withdrawals from the general reserve of the state. He noted choosing the deficit financing mechanism will depend on the financial cost. He stressed the committee is keen to follow up the issue of the projected deficit and ways to skip and address it with the least damage to the public money, pointing out the committee would consider all ways and means available to overcome the deficit expected in the current fiscal and future scenarios that will work by the government in the event of continued deficit.
Meanwhile, in his capacity as the Deputy Chairman of Kuwaiti Parliamentary Group, Al-Shaye confirmed Kuwait’s belief in the importance of the principle of strengthening the freedoms and the protection of individual privacy guaranteed by and protected by the Constitution. He pointed out Kuwait is fully committed to all international treaties in this regard to implement UN General Assembly Resolution No.167/68 issued on Dec 18, 2013. Al-Shaye said this after participating in the Third Standing Committee (Democracy and Human Rights) under the title ‘democracy in the digital age and the threat to privacy and freedoms of individuals’. He focused on the keenness of Kuwait to consolidate democratic values through decisions and legislation which contributes in shaping the electronic oversight that coincides with holding educative dialogue forums in support of civilized dialogue.
He stressed the digital democracy has provided an opportunity to exercise political rights directly with political decisionmakers through social networking as governments become more interactive with their people through what is known as e-governments. He said stemming from the principle of the protection of national sovereignty and the promotion of fundamental freedoms of individuals “we, as parliamentarians, have to push our governments towards international resolutions and laws enacted to control the mechanism of the flow of information and freedom of opinion and political participation through electronic means and social networks to be a means of oversight and not monitoring and today we are in dire need to regulate and not violating freedoms to preserve the political and social stability.”
He called on the Inter-Parliamentary Union to work to strengthen international cooperation in consolidating the democratic values without undermining the fundamental tenets of nations or infringing on individual freedoms and rights as well as addressing the pretext of security taken by some developing countries as a reason to restrict freedom of expression. He also called on the international federation to push towards accelerating the democratic development process and adopting appropriate international legislation and decisions to lay the foundations of international peace and security.
By Abubakar A. Ibrahim Arab Times Staff
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