‘Fake citizenship issue won’t be solved by appointing new public authorities’

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Widespread corruption, parachute appointments: MP

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 9: The fake citizenship issue will not be solved through the establishment of new public authorities or ratification of a special law in light of the widespread corruption and parachute appointments, says MP Shuaib Al-Muwaizri.

This came in the recent press statement of Al-Muwaizri in reaction to the speech of National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim regarding Bedouns and fake citizenship during the session held on Feb 5, 2020. He pointed out that talks on the fake citizenship issue have been going on for more than three years now. He said the government is supposed to refer suspicious files to the concerned court, considering that the relevant State institutions are in possession of related documents and information.

He went on to say that Al-Ghanim mentioned in his speech the thousands of Bedouns who played a role during the Iraqi invasion in 1990 but he did not reveal what happened to these Bedouns. He wondered if these Bedouns were referred to the Public Prosecution or if all of them escaped. If these Bedouns were not punished, the people – citizens and Bedouns – want to know why.

He also quoted Al-Ghanim as saying that the court verdicts refl ect the truth; while stressing that all issues concerning Bedouns, documents and information in the possession of the Central System for Remedying the Status of Illegal Residents (CSRSIR) should be referred to the court. He argued there is no need to issue a new law and establish a new public authority considering Kuwait has a fair judiciary.

He claimed the reason behind calls for ratifying new laws on Bedouns and fake citizenship is to blackmail the citizens. He stressed that he will not accept any forgery. Al-Ghanim said in his speech that corrupt individuals issued orders to depose HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al- Khaled Al-Sabah because His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah praised the Prime Minister’s honesty and instructed him to combat corruption. He also mentioned that these individuals intend to grill HH the Prime Minister on baseless issues just to get rid of him, Al-Muwaizri narrated. He then asked the speaker to reveal the names of these corrupt individuals and the MPs who will grill the Prime Minister according to directives issued to them. He urged Al-Ghanim to expose them and present evidence to support his claims.

He also asked Al-Ghanim to call for an emergency session to reveal the facts, including the names of the corrupt and traitors who are keen on destroying the country. He asserted that corruption is getting worse, citing as an example the threat made by the Ministry of Electricity and Water undersecretary in a meeting with 50 employees and head of the team assigned by the State Audit Bureau (SAB) to monitor the budget of the ministry Bandar Al-Otaibi that he will fire the latter. He revealed this happened after the representatives of the ministry attended the meeting of the parliamentary Budgets and Final Accounts Committee, during which the violations mentioned in the report released by the team of Al-Otaibi were discussed. In another development, the Financial and Economic Affairs Committee on Sunday discussed a number of issues such as real estate fraud and relevant draft laws in presence of Commerce and Industry Minister Khalid Al-Rawdan.

In a press statement after the meeting, MP Safa’a Al-Hashem disclosed the minister clarified that the draft laws are under the jurisdiction of the Finance Ministry.

She asked the minister about the procedures taken to prevent real estate fraud and the latter said he formed a committee consisting of representatives from the Central Bank of Kuwait, Kuwait Economic Society, local banks and other concerned parties to issue licenses for real estate exhibitions. She explained the draft law submitted by a number of MPs is not clear and it does not stipulate ways to prevent real estate fraud, adding that the first article of the draft law does not match its title. She said the draft law is aimed at establishing a fund to compensate victims of real estate fraud and filling the legislative gap in organizing sale and purchase procedures. She disclosed the victims have presented a draft law but there are shortcomings according to consultants, affirming the committee will discuss the draft laws with the finance minister soon. She underscored the need to present a solution as the issue affects a large number of citizens and it has resulted in disputes among families. M

eanwhile, MP Muhammad Al-Dallal has submitted questions to Minister of Finance and acting State Minister for Economic Affairs Mariam Al-Aqeel about the reports published by local and global media outlets on the alleged involvement of some Kuwaitis in bribery. He said these reports are about the alleged bribery in the deal for purchasing Airbus aircraft and that foreign bodies are currently investigating the issue.

He requested for information that the Ministry of Finance, Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) and Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) might have concerning bribery and illegal commissions from 2014 till date. He asked about the entity tasked to follow up the Airbus deal – either a team or the board of directors at KAC or KIA, period when each concerned individual was in charge of concluding the deal, and if KIA or KAC conducted investigations on the alleged bribery.

He also demanded for reports of the concerned monitoring bodies such as SAB and Financial Controllers Bureau. In addition, MP Muhammad Al- Hewaila has forwarded questions to Minister of Health Dr Bassel Humoud Hamad Al-Sabah about the delayed maintenance works at Sabahiya Medical Center. Considering the maintenance works started two years ago, the lawmaker wants to know if the maintenance works cover the entire building or just parts of it and the cost of these works.

He also called on the minister to issue a decision for Fahd Al-Ahmed Medical Center to provide services 24/7 in order to minimize the suffering of residents in Fahd Al-Ahmed. Moreover, MP Askar Al-Anzi has proposed establishing the College of Fine Arts at Kuwait University as a replacement for of Kuwait Art Academy.

He pointed out that since the academy was established according to a decree issued in 2010, the decree can be cancelled later. He suggested the new college should consist of all related fields like Music and various types of visual arts, in addition to granting bachelor’s certificate to graduates. He added the graduates should be able to pursue higher studies – masteral and doctorate degrees.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff

This news has been read 13385 times!

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