SAB warned against cover-up

This news has been read 10413 times!

KUWAIT CITY, June 20: Head of the Public Funds Protection Committee MP Abdullah Al-Turaiji affirmed the existence of an unusual delay by the State Audit Bureau in responding to the letters and correspondences issued by the committee regarding the investigation assigned to it by the National Assembly, reports Al-Qabas daily. In a press statement, he warned the State Audit Bureau against attempts to cover up and exclude the violations of some government agencies documented in official reports, especially the Touristic Enterprises Company.

MP Al-Turaiji explained that such procrastination contradicts the pivotal role of the bureau, as it is the arm of the National Assembly in oversight. This delay also contradicts the directives of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled to the Minister of Finance to inform him about the measures taken towards the tourism-related projects and public facilities companies, based on the observations monitored by the bureau after it studied the fees imposed by government agencies in exchange for the use of state lands.

The committee has ended its investigation of the violations of the Touristic Enterprises Company highlighted in the reports of the bureau and through its meetings with company officials. The results of the audit team formed by the bureau in 2021 coincide with what the bureau concluded regarding the study of fees for the use of state lands, and with the measures taken by the Minister of Finance by referring to the bureau the results of the ministerial investigation committee that was formed.

MP Al-Turaiji warned the Court of Auditors against excluding any of the observations and abuses it recorded against the Touristic Enterprises Company in a previous report, and the abuses monitored by the Public Funds Protection Committee, according to which the government began taking measures to address them and hold the perpetrators accountable. He announced that he will send an invitation to the head of the State Audit Bureau, his deputy, and specialists in the bureau, as well as to the senior leadership of the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Touristic Enterprises Company, to discuss their corrective measures, especially the renewal of 12 contracts for leased sites, illegal appointments, developments, and the repercussions of the bureau’s failure to cooperate with the committee.

This news has been read 10413 times!