publish time

22/01/2017

author name Arab Times

publish time

22/01/2017

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 22: Rapporteur of the parliamentary Financial and Economic Affairs Committee MP Safa Hashem said they tackled the funding of Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) on Sunday. She pointed out the problem lies in the administration, while calling on all departments in State institutions to carry out their tasks properly. “Unfortunately, it seems that no minister wants to handle KAC,” she asserted.She went on to say the administration of KAC presented six scenarios to get money but all of them do not make sense. “Until today, the Kuwaiti airline has yet to submit its financial statement and there is no professional team capable of doing so,” she stressed. While disclosing she was not convinced by the presentation of the KAC administration during the meeting, the lawmaker claimed the government is not keen on submitting a bill on KAC being a national carrier. She then announced that the committee has agreed to increase the capital of KAC by KD600 million which will be taken from the general financial reserve of the State.She added Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Al-Subaih attended the meeting and requested for a grace period of three months to respond to the questions of the committee. In a related development, MP Mohamed Hayef emphasized the need for the minister in charge of KAC to hold accountable those behind the irregularities reported by the State Audit Bureau, especially since some of these anomalies went on for several years. He rejected the idea of referring for retirement the officials proven to be involved in the irregularities, indicating these officials must be referred to the Public Prosecution.He added there are indications that the KAC administration have committed errors; thereby, harming public funds and the interests of the State. Meanwhile, the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee discussed Sunday the proposal to amend the Juvenile Law in the presence of some ministries’ representatives. Committee member MP Khalid Al-Shatti told reporters after the meeting that the best aspect of the discussion was the government’s cooperative attitude, particularly the ministries of Interior and Awqaf, towards the suggestion to change the juvenile age from 16 to 18 years. He added the committee unanimously approved the proposal. By Abubakar A. Ibrahim Arab Times Staff