Kuwait to ‘establish’ anti-graft authority for fighting corruption – VIP access cards issued illegally to expatriates

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KUWAIT CITY, April 8: Head of Kuwait A n t i – C o r r u p t i o n Authority Lawyer Abdulrahman Al-Namash revealed that the Board of Trustees has edited a draft of the executive bylaw, which will be sent to the Minister of Justice and then to the Cabinet for i m p l e m e n t a t i o n , reports Al-Qabas daily.

He said the issuance of Law No. 2/2016 concerning establishment of the Kuwait Anti-Corruption Authority, which is authorized to check financial and asset disclosures, is considered as a huge step for fighting corruption and filling the legislative gaps that resulted from the Constitutional Court’s verdict concerning the unconstitutionality of Decree No. 24/2012.

About the asset disclosures that were presented prior to the cancellation of the law, Al-Namash affirmed that this issue will be discussed with Minister of Justice to find a method for implementing Law No. 330/2015 concerning dealing with the results of the Constitutional Court’s verdict, indicating that the method will be declared in the next few days. He said Kuwait Anti Corruption Authority is planning to create a new organizational structure based on its positive experiences in order to follow up cases of corruption and meet its objectives in the most efficient manner.

Al-Namash stressed the keenness of Kuwait Anti Corruption Authority to practice its role through its Board of Trustees and its executive department, affirming that they are dedicated about avoiding the mistakes and shortcomings of the past phase, meeting the expectations of people and following the directives of the top leadership of Kuwait for creating a transparent environment without any form of corruption.

The Administrative and Financial Sector of Kuwait Municipality has discovered that VIP access cards were issued illegally to the expatriates working in Kuwait Municipality, reports Al-Rai daily quoting informed sources. They explained that these VIP access cards allowed expatriate employees to enter and exit through the gates allocated for leadership and top level officials in the country.

However, some expatriates were treated as exceptional cases and issued with VIP access cards, renewable every six months, if they suffered from health problems. The sources affirmed that Deputy Assistant Undersecretary for Administrative and Financial Affairs Eng Waleed Al-Jassem intends to investigate this matter and refer the concerned expatriates to the legal department for necessary action to be taken. He intends to check the CCTV records to identify the expatriates who illegally used the gates and parking spots allocated for the visiting top-level officials and leaders. They indicated that such a step is part of the strong campaign launched by Kuwait Municipality to confront corruption and favoritism.

Ministry of Interior has succeeded in saving KD 30 million this fiscal year without affecting the standard of its work plan, reports Al-Shahed daily quoting informed sources. They said the Cabinet praised the measures taken by Ministry of Interior to control expenditures particularly since the country is currently experiencing an economic crisis.

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