Cabinet reviews progress of mega projects

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KUWAIT CITY, Sept 5, (Agencies): During its weekly meeting at Al-Saif Palace on Monday under chairmanship of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al- Sabah, the Cabinet reviewed the recommendations of the ministerial committee on mega development projects and the financial affairs.

The committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister Defense and Acting Minister of Interior Sheikh Talal Khaled Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah raised suggestions to remove the obstacles facing the implementation of the mega projects, said Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Oil and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Dr. Mohammad Abdullatif Al-Fares following the meeting. The Cabinet members reviewed the recommendations of the committee on economic affairs, chaired by Al-Fares, including the proposal of Minister of Finance, Minister of State for Economic and Investment Affairs Abdul-Wahab Al-Rusaid on putting cap on spending in the three fiscal years ahead.

They mandated Al-Rushaid to adopt whatever measures he deems proper to on the limits of spending and set the necessary guidelines and regulations for the government agencies in keeping with the state budget. The Minister was also tasked with issuance of circulations regulating the budget appropriations pursuant to the provisions of Act 31 (1978), and the budgetary and auditing rules. The Cabinet then discussed some suggestions pitched by a public services committee, comprised of various state bodies, over planned initiatives aiming to enhance Kuwait’s food security, referring the matter to the country’s Government Performance Follow-Up Agency.

The aforementioned body will be tasked with compiling a special report on these initiatives, which include forming designated storage facilities to boost food security, a plan that requires more coordination among state bodies. Finance Minister Abdul-Wahab Al-Rushaid then briefed the Cabinet on the existential financial challenges facing Kuwait, all of which require a raft of reforms to usher in financial stability, he underlined, while his ministry’s efforts to address the matter were praised by the Cabinet.

The talks then turned to current happenings around the world, mainly a recent spate of terrorist attacks in a number of countries, including a deadly attack targeting a food convoy in Somalia and a bomb blast that ripped through a mosque in western Afghanistan, both of which left scores of people dead or injured. The Cabinet strongly condemned these incidents, in addition to an assassination attempt on Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, saying Kuwait backs global efforts to root out the scourge of terrorism.

The Kuwaiti Cabinet on Monday mandated Minister of Finance, Minister of State for Economic and Investment Affairs Abdul-Wahab Al-Rushaid with putting a cap on government spending for the coming three fiscal years. Al-Rushaid has to adopt whatever measures he deems appropriate to limit spending and set the necessary guidelines and regulations for the government agencies in keeping with the state budget. Under the decision, adopted during the weekly Cabinet meeting, the minister is authorized to issue circulations to regulate the budget appropriations pursuant to the provisions of Act 31 (1978), the budgetary and auditing rules, and the final accounts.

The Council of Ministers have put in place a number of solutions for faltering housing projects, on top of which are the cities of South Sa’ad Al-Abdullah and South Sabah Al-Ahmad, in addition to a number of other new housing projects such as Al-Mutla’a Residential City and South Abdullah Al-Mubarak Suburb, reports Al-Qabas daily. The sources indicated that the most prominent solutions to the housing crisis came through the recommendation to give priority during the coming period to the approval of a number of laws that will contribute to accelerating the allocation of new cities, explaining that the new laws that ended with the recommendations should be approved urgently as soon as the sessions are held. The package of laws include, the real estate developer law, the real estate finance law, the smart cities law, the central cooling law and the building sustainability law.

The same sources said the Council of Ministers has asked the concerned authorities, led by the Public Authority for Housing Welfare, the Kuwait Credit Bank, the Kuwait Municipality and the Ministry of Electricity and Water, to take the necessary measures towards preparing draft bills and to take the approvals of the concerned authorities in order to issue them, explaining that the draft real estate developer bill was completed after taking the approval of the concerned authorities, the fatwa and legislation department, and pending the Council of Ministers sending the draft law to the National Assembly and expediting its decision.

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