Jobs at KPC, jobs at Education – Expat hires in MP panel scrutiny

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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 26: The committee formed by the National Assembly to investigate violations related to the appointment and promotion processes in Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and its subsidiary companies held a meeting on Thursday, Dec 26.

After the meeting ended, a member of the committee MP Al-Humaidhi Al-Subai’e issued a press statement to affirm that a suitable mechanism has been specified in this regard, and the relevant documents were discussed during the meeting. He revealed that the committee agreed to meet on Jan 6, 2020, and the teams, which are working in State Audit Bureau and are assigned to monitor KPC, will be summoned to that meeting.

Al-Subai’e said the committee will soon present the documents that prove the violations, and will send copies of these documents to KPC and the subsidiary companies, indicating that the committee will ask KPC to submit its response within the coming week.

He affirmed that the committee will send letters to the Chairman of KPC as well as the chairpersons of its subsidiary companies to summon them to the next meeting during which they will be presented with the documents that prove the shortcomings in the appointment and promotion processes, and required to answer questions.

Al-Subai’e indicated that the violations include prioritizing the appointment of expatriates over Kuwaitis. He said the committee has agreed to hold weekly meetings in order to expedite the completion of the final report, stressing that this report will be limited to facts supported by official documents, and will not defame any figures, so that it will not be used to harm the employees at the oil fields.

Regarding cybercrimes, Al- Subai’e affirmed that the concerned department is aware of most of the fake accounts on social media. He stressed that the period of parliamentary questioning and inquiries is over, and it is time to grill Minister of Interior, unless he proves his commitment to applying the law.

Al-Subai’e insisted that “it is no longer acceptable for the reputation of Kuwaiti families to be treated like a toy in the hands of some irresponsible officials in Ministry of Interior”.

He revealed that he received plenty of complaints from the children of Kuwaiti women about appointments in the public sector. Al-Subai’e explained, “Even though the Civil Service Commission has issued decisions to make the appointment of the children of Kuwaiti women second priority after the appointment of Kuwaiti citizens, most of the state bodies and ministries are not committed to this decision. For example, expatriates were appointed recently in Ministry of Education even though the children of Kuwaiti women are on the waiting list”.

He indicated that he is planning to submit a proposal in the coming parliamentary session for the formation of a committee that will be assigned to investigate ministries’ lack of commitment to appoint children of Kuwaiti women.

Meanwhile, Parliament’s Human Rights Committee Thursday held a meeting during which MP Dr Adel Al-Damkhi and MP Thamer Al-Suwait were elected by acclamation as Head of the committee and Rapporteur of the committee respectively.

In another development, MP Khalid Al-Otaibi clarified the reasons why he voted against the formation of a committee to investigate the issue of fake citizenships. He explained that he believes the only authority capable of declaring the innocent and convicting the guilty is the judicial authority, and that he cannot hand the weapon to an enemy he does not trust in order to attack his compatriots.

Al-Otaibi said everybody can study all of the bodies that were formed to tackle the identity issue and determine the tough level at which they have been dealing with the public as though the latter are their enemies including those who deserve to receive the citizenship. He called upon both the government and National Assembly to close this file after dealing with it for the sake of Kuwait, without succumbing to any suggestions that aim at destroying the society and deepening the gap among its components.

Furthermore, MP Dr Abdul Kareem Al- Kandari submitted a proposal to suggest the appointment of female mayors. He said women in Kuwait have proven their efficiency and excellent capabilities in many positions due to which they have the right to take up the position of mayor. Dr Al-Kandari affirmed that Article 7 of Law No. 40/1966 does not stipulate that this position is exclusively for men, adding that Article 8 of the aforementioned law authorizes the Council of Ministers to issue decision related to the appointment of mayors based on the nomination of the Mayor’s Affairs Committee.

Also, MP Osama Shaheen submitted a proposal for the amendment of Law No. 23/ 2015 related to the establishment of the Bureau of Financial Controllers. The proposal was also signed by MPs Khalid Al-Otaibi, Thamer Al-Suwait, Muhammad Hayef Al- Mutairi and Abdullah Al-Kandari. It aims at providing more independence to the controllers in the bureau, like in similar monitoring bodies such as State Audit Bureau and Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority, and expanding the responsibilities of the Bureau of Financial Controllers in order to enhance its ability to control public funds and maintain transparency and honesty.

According to the proposal, head of the bureau and heads of its departments will be selected from the experienced controllers within the bureau. It also stipulates the need to expand the authority of the bureau to cover companies with state ownership of 50 percent and above.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff

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