Shift to digital government, fight against corruption on – Ministers take oath

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Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Prime Minister, Mariam Al-Aqeel Finance/Acting Economic Affairs, Dr Khaled Al-Fadhel Oil/Electricity/Water

KUWAIT CITY, Dec 24: The National Assembly held its session on Tuesday, Dec 24 in the presence of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and the new ministers who took the Constitutional oath at the beginning of the session.

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said the government program will be ready within three weeks maximum, according to article 98 of the Constitution.

Sheikh Ahmad Mansour Defense Minister, Anas Al-Saleh Interior/Cabinet Affairs, Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al- Mohammad Al-Sabah Foreign Affairs

He affirmed that the government program will focus on minimizing the sources of corruption and following up those who are suspected of being involved in corruption crimes. His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled highlighted the keenness of the government to upgrade the state institutions, and gradually shifting to a “digital government”, stressing the importance of cooperation for the accomplishment of the national project.

Khaled Al-Roudhan Commerce and Industry, Dr Sheikh Bassel Al- Sabah Health, Dr Saud Al-Harbi Education/Higher Education

He expressed gratitude and honor for the trust granted to him by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah. During the session, a total of 12 proposals submitted by the MPs were studied. The Parliament agreed on discussing them without delay, but also agreed on the suggestion of the National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim to assign the task National Assembly Office to put the proposals in order so that they can be discussed prior to other drafts but not in a single session because it is impossible to discuss this many topics during a single session. The Parliament also approved the formation of a number of committees.

Dr Fahad Al-Afasi Justice/Awqaf, Dr Ghadeer Aseeri Social Affairs, Dr Rana Al-Fares Public Works/Housing

The committees and the MPs chosen as members of these committees are as follows:

1. Fact-finding committee to investigate the issue of the appointments in Kuwait Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiary companies – Al-Humaidhi Al-Subai’e, Khalil Abul, Saleh Ashour and Faisal Al-Kandari.

2. Committee to investigate the death of the citizen Ahmed Al- Dhefairi while in detention – Mohammad Al-Dallal, Dr Adel Al- Damkhi and Naif Al-Midras.

3. Temporary committee for improving the business environment – Ahmed Al-Fadhl, Rakan Al-Nesf, Yousef Al-Fadalah, Hamdan Al-Azmi and Khalid Al-Otaibi.

4. Committee for Human Resources Development – Osama Al- Shaheen, Khalil Al-Saleh, Muhammad Al-Huwaila, Mubarak Al- Hajraf and Dr Bader Hamed Al-Mullah.

5. Committee for people with disabilities – Mubarak Al-Hajraf, Talal Al-Jalal, Khalil Al-Saleh, Oudah Al-Ruwai’e and Abdullah Al-Kandari.

6. Women and Family Committee – Safa’a Al-Hashem, MP Al- Humaidhi Al-Subai’e and MP Muhammad Al-Dalal.

7. Housing Committee – Faisal Al-Kandari, Rakan Al-Nesf and Ali Al-Daqbasi.

8. Youth and Sports Committee – Ahmed Al-Fadhl, Faisal Al- Kandari, Saleh Al-Ashour, Hamdan Al-Azmi and Khalil Abul.

9. Human Rights Committee – Adnan Abdulsamad, Khalil Abul, Thamer Al-Suwait, Muhammad Haif, Safa’a Al-Hashem, Dr Adel Al-Damkhi and Farraj Al-Arbeid.

10. Committee to investigate the evacuation of lands owned by subsidiary of Kuwait Ports Authority – Majed Al-Mutairi, Abdullah Al-Kandari and Dr Adel Al-Damkhi In addition, the Parliament approved the membership of MP Dr Ouda Al-Ruwai’e instead of MP Mubarak Al-Harees who resigned from the Budgets and Final Accounts Committee.

It also approved the resignation of MP Abdullah Al-Kandari from the Public Funds Protection Committee. In a press release issued earlier, MP Al-Kandari explained that he was appointed unanimously as a member of the Public Funds Protection Committee. However, he decided to resign from this committee due to conflict of interests of a particular individual who was previously proven to be involved in the scandal of inflating bank deposits.

Furthermore, the National Assembly approved to assign the State Audit Bureau to study the letter sent by former minister of Defense concerning the Army Fund and the Euro Fighter deal.

In this regard, MP Al-Humaidi Al-Subai’e said the “Caracal Deal” was worth one billion Euros, and the Lebanese broker had filed a lawsuit in France against Kuwait in demand for his commission, which is six percent of the deal value. The National Assembly also approved the request of the Legal and Legislation Committee to expedite the discussion on the comprehensive amnesty bill, as the report of the committee was referred to the National Assembly one month ago.

It approved to assign Parliament’s Health Affairs Committee for discussing the death of the Kuwaiti child Abdulaziz Al-Rasheedi at Fahaheel Medical Center, the death of Kuwaiti citizen Hanan Al-Adwani, and other similar cases, and preparing a report on the quality of the health services being provided.

The Parliament rejected the proposal for the formation of a special committee to handle the file of fake Kuwaiti citizenships. The MPs also voted against referring the issue to the Parliament’s Interior and Defense Committee.

In this regard, Minister of Interior and State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Anas Al-Saleh said the government does not mind if the Parliament forms a special committee for this reason or if the file was referred to the Parliament’s Interior and Defense Committee.

He indicated that, since the file has been witnessing parliamentary dispute, the government will refrain from voting on this. In another development, the National Assembly voted to lift the parliamentary immunity of MP Ahmed Al-Fadhl based on the request of the Public Prosecution for investigations on cybercrime cases No. 1146/2019 and No. 1340/2019. For the first case, 22 MPs voted for and 13 MPs voted against the lifting of the parliamentary immunity of MP Ahmed Al-Fadhl. For the second case, 23 MPs voted for and 11 MPs voted against the lifting of his parliamentary immunity.

After the session ended, the National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim issued a press release in which he said the decision to drop the voting on the issue of fake citizenships will not affect the citizenship law. He affirmed his keenness to move forward in the course of approving the law, indicating that only some final touches remain.

By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff

This news has been read 11969 times!

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