MP urges govt to stand firm on cancellation of citizenship

Ashour questions minister on Ramadan tents

KUWAIT CITY, July 23: Cancelling the nationality of those with dual citizenship and those who were naturalized illegally is a good step in the right direction, MP Abdul-Hameed Dashti said Wednesday.

Dashti stressed the need to refer those proven to have violated the Criminal Code of Kuwait to the Public Prosecution, indicating the punishment must be within the purview of the law. He said the country is currently witnessing unusual circumstances due to the plans of some people to undermine the governmental system and act against the Constitution. He reiterated the Interior Ministry should refer citizens involved in crimes to the court and punish them as per the law.

He warned the government against succumbing to pressure from certain parties trying to mediate on behalf of those who hold dual citizenship and those who were naturalized illegally. He pointed out the government must take concrete steps to address the issue immediately; otherwise, the country will be in total disarray.

On another issue, MP Saleh Ashour has forwarded questions to Minister of Commerce and Industry and State Minister for Municipal Affairs Issa Al-Kandari on the Ramadan tents. He requested for copies of decisions and regulations on setting up these tents, number of applications for setting up these tents, copies of all applications, number of approved applications, location of each tent, validity of the permits issued and list of activities allowed in the tent.

Meanwhile, MP Mubarak Al-Khurainej has proposed adding Article 29 (repeated) to Housing Care Law number 47/1993 to write off housing loans of those who died before completing the payment. The proposed additional article states, “If a citizen, who obtained housing loan in accordance with Article 28 of this law, died prior to the completion of payment, the balance after the date of death should be written off provided he did not own any real estate property other than the one he obtained through this law. In this case, the State is obliged to compensate Kuwaiti Credit Bank for the written off amount as per this article.”

On the other hand, Chairman of the parliamentary Utilities Committee MP Adel Al-Kharafi said Minister of Public Works, Electricity and Water AbdulAziz Al-Ibrahim will soon respond to the panel’s queries on the implementation of recommendations mentioned in the grilling request he had earlier submitted against the minister.

After the committee meeting on Wednesday, Al-Kharafi revealed they discussed with the minister the implementation of recommendations approved by the Parliament during deliberations on the interpellation. He asserted the committee has given enough time to respond to the questions, indicating some documents were presented in a secret meeting with some lawmakers.

Asked if the secret meeting entails coordination to grill the minister in the next legislative round, Al-Kharafi said the committee does not interfere in anything related to interpellation, because its job is to present a report on the minister’s implementation of the recommendations.