Assembly to start Oct 30
KUWAIT CITY, Sept 23: The date for the start of the National Assembly’s third regular session of the 15th legislative term has been finalized for Oct 30, Kuwait’s top lawmaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim said on Sunday.
“After much consultations with all lawmakers and the government, we have agreed that Parliament will officially resume on Oct 30,” Al-Ghanim told the press.
Meanwhile, Al-Ghanim had earlier met with the head of Kuwait’s anti-corruption watchdog Abdulrahman Al-Nemsh, where they discussed what achievements the national body had made last year.
Kuwait’s Parliament wrapped up its second regular session last June.
The parliamentary Budgets and Final Accounts Committee on Sunday discussed a number of pending issues and then determine which of these issues will be prioritized in the upcoming legislative term, says Committee Chairman MP Adnan Abdulsamad.
The committee agreed on the importance of finalizing the final accounts of 65 State projects that the National Assembly rejected and referred to the government due to irregularities and then returned to the Assembly. These accounts piled up on the committee’s table without any progress. A special session will most likely
be requested to discuss the committee’s recommendations and government’s compliance.
Other issues that necessitate attention include the government’s failure to collect debts – currently estimated at KD 2 billion – due to lax management.
Abdulsamad stressed the need for some governmental bodies to look into the possibility of investing their revenues, instead of depositing into the general reserves.
The committee also tackled the weak performance of financial institutions and authorities in the government, repeated failures in internal supervision and lack of follow up; all of which greatly contribute to irregularities in independent and affiliated governmental authorities.
The committee intends to propose amendment of Law No. 31/1978 regarding regulations for preparation and supervision of the State’s general budget and final accounts to be on par with international accounting standards in order to guarantee the submission of accurate figures.
In addition, the committee will suggest that all bills bearing significant financial weight should pass through it to avoid inconsistencies in the budgets of governmental bodies caused by similarities in obligations.