Russia, Ukraine top agenda – Speaker calls special session Monday

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KUWAIT CITY, March 6: The National Assembly will hold a special session on Monday to discuss developments in the war between Russia and Ukraine, and its impact on Kuwait. Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim disclosed that he received two proposals — one from the government and the other from a number of MPs — to hold the special session. He said the government requested for a closed door special session to inform the MPs about the recent developments in the war and its preparations to deal with the consequences of the war. He said MPs Hamad Al-Matar, Saleh Zeiab Al-Mutairi, Ahmed Al-Hamad, Badr Al-Mullah, Marzouq Al-Khalifa, Osama Al- Shaheen, Abdullah Al-Turaiji, Muhammad Al- Hewaila, Mehalhal Al-Mudaf and Badr Al- Humaidi submitted the other proposal.

These MPs requested for the special session to tackle the impact of the war on the Gulf including Kuwait, as well as on the supply and prices of commodities and the possibility of nuclear radiation leak. He revealed these two proposals were merged and the special session will be held at 11:00 am on Monday. He also confirmed receiving the proposal of MPs Osama Al- Shaheen, Badr Al-Humaidi, Farz Al-Daihani, Obaid Al-Wasmi, Fayez Al-Jomhour, Musaed Al-Ardi, Abdullah Al-Turaiji, Khalid Al-Anzi, Mubarak Al-Azmi and Saoud Bu Slaib to hold a special session to discuss issues concerning retirees. He said this special session will be scheduled after coordinating with the MPs who submitted the proposal because of the importance of the issue, especially the proposed pension increment and distribution of a portion of the revenues of Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) to retirees.

Meanwhile, Al-Ghanim invited the MPs and the government to the ordinary sessions scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. Items in the agenda for these sessions include the grilling motion of MP Abdullah Al-Mudhaf against Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Ali Al- Musa.

The grilling motion consists of the following points:

■ Failure to combat corruption in the Public Authority for Agriculture Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR),

■ Downplaying the reports of monitoring institutions and factfinding committees;

■ Indecisiveness in referring officials suspected of illegally receiving privileges to the concerned authorities,

■ Excessive powers granted to Al-Musa and senior officials in PAAAFR. The Assembly will also deliberate on the program of the government; reports of the concerned parliamentary committees on some bills like the second reading of the proposed amendment of the Penal Code which was approved on Jan 13, amending Civil Service Law No. 15/1979 and Law No. 21/1964 on boycotting Israel and banning normalization of relations with this country; report of the Business Environment Improvement Committee on the bill to amend National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises Law; and report on the proposed amendment of laws concerning Bedouns.

On the other hand, the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee on Sunday discussed suspicions surrounding the raffle draws organized by some banks. Committee Chairman MP Ahmed Al-Hamad confirmed the attendance of the representatives of the Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK), Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and Kuwait Banks Union at the meeting. Al-Hamad said the committee had earlier concluded that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry is responsible for monitoring raffle draws, but they decided to hear the opinion of the ministry before finalizing the report.

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