Prime Minister resignation to Crown Prince

This news has been read 27104 times!

KUWAIT CITY, April 5: Kuwait’s government resigned on Tuesday, just months after its formation, opening up new uncertainty as the country grapples with a worsening political crisis that has blocked critical economic and social reforms. Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al Hamad Al Sabah submitted the cabinet’s resignation to HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al Ahmad Al Sabah. It marks Kuwait’s third collective government resignation in the past year and a half. A host of new faces, including some picks to appease opposition blocs, had been appointed to ministerial posts as recently as December, with their resignation now reflecting their failure to make reforms.

His Highness the Crown Prince receives the government’s resignation letter from His Highness the Prime Minister.

Opposition has been mounting against Sheikh Sabah. Angry lawmakers hauled him in for extensive interrogations last week over his alleged corruption and mismanagement. They publicly declared him “unsuitable” and called for a new prime minister to tackle the country’s problems and secure badly needed reforms. Cabinet’s resignation comes after the defense and interior ministers submitted their resignations earlier this year. Exasperated, the two senior ministers decried their inability to make anything happen in oil-rich Kuwait because of Parliament’s rowdy opposition. Lawmakers increasingly in recent months have expressed their political frustrations and mistrust by questioning various unpopular ministers and stalling major projects.

Soaring
Although soaring oil prices amid Russia’s war in Ukraine have recently created a windfall for Kuwait, they’ve also served as a reminder of the nation’s utter dependence on oil revenues and need to diversify. Even if the International Monetary Fund now expects Kuwait to run a budget surplus after years in the red and see its gross domestic product increase by 2.7%, it remains politically stuck. Years of low oil prices, coupled with the coronavirus pandemic, pushed the country’s account deficit to 16.6% of its GDP last year. As financial stress worsened, the government couldn’t draw from Kuwait’s flush sovereign wealth fund or issue debt because lawmakers have blocked a public debt law.

The parliament, a rarity in the autocratic region of Persian Gulf sheikhdoms, is empowered to pass and block laws, question ministers and submit no-confidence votes against senior officials. However, final authority rests with the ruling emir. The stagnation has spread deep public disillusionment with the country’s political system. “The Kuwaiti people are exhausted and approaching a dangerous level of despair,” prominent academic Ibtihal Al-Khatib wrote in an editorial for the Arabic language Alhurra news website. National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanim said that the National Assembly will not hold a session Wednesday, after His Highness the Prime Minister submitted the government’s letter of resignation. Al-Ghanim said in a press statement at the National Assembly Tuesday that he was informed a while ago that His Highness the Prime Minister and the government submitted their resignations to His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al- Ahmad .

Powers
Pursuant to the Amiri order, with the help of His Highness the Crown Prince, some of the constitutional powers of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al- Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah will be exercised, he added. The speaker affirmed his trust in the political leadership, stressing the latter will take the right decision. On the other hand, during the opposition meeting held recently in the office of former MP and coordinator of the 31-member opposition bloc Bader Al-Dahoum; the members reiterated their call for the dismissal of Al-Ghanim and HH the Prime Minister. MP Mubarak Al-Hajraf said the dissolution of the Assembly is the only way to remove Al- Ghanim from office.

MP Muhammad Al-Mutair asserted the 2020 parliamentary election candidates won, because they called for the dismissal of the speaker and such call expanded later to include the premier. He urged the next prime Minister to avoid repeating the mistake of Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid who opted to ally with Al-Ghanim against the people’s will. Meanwhile, MPs Osama Al- Shaheen, Hamad Al-Matar, Abdulaziz Al-Saqaabi and Mehalhal Al-Mudaf submitted a bill to amend the law on the establishment of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED).By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff and Agencies

This news has been read 27104 times!

Related Articles

Back to top button

Advt Blocker Detected

Kindly disable the Ad blocker

Verified by MonsterInsights