Panel notes confusion on Defense accounts By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh

KUWAIT CITY, Feb 15: The parliamentary Budgets and Final Accounts Committee recently discussed the budget and final account of the Defense Ministry for fiscal 2018/2019 in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Ahmed Al-Mansour Al-Sabah, says Committee Chairman MP Adnan Abdulsamad.

Abdulsamad disclosed the committee concluded that the final account of the ministry was not edited properly although the law on the allocation of an exceptional armament budget of KD 3 billion was ratified four years ago. He said there was no control over the exceptional budget and the committee could not figure out the exact amount of the remaining budget as the final account merely showed the range – from KD 2.2 billion to KD 2.6 billion – instead of the exact figure. He added the F18 aircraft contract under the exceptional budget is not clear in terms of the total cost, asserting the committee will follow up this issue with the ministry.

He revealed the committee is waiting for the response of the Finance Ministry to the proposed inclusion of the remaining special budget for armament to the State budget as per the previous Armament Law because the current law has not been enforced properly.

Abdulsamad went on to say that the ministry informed the committee about the referral of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the Euro Fighters deal to the Public Prosecution as per the recommendation of the fact-finding committee formed by the ministry. He also quoted the ministry as saying that some other issues regarding the contract are currently under investigation.

He affirmed the ministry promised to take the necessary procedures and conduct technical inspection before receiving the Caracal helicopters in order to be sure they meet the specifications stipulated in the contract.

He disclosed the committee stressed the importance of regulating the transfer of funds from one budget item to another. He said the committee found out a large amount was transferred from the heavy equipment maintenance item to other items even if the field tour conducted by the State Audit Bureau (SAB) led to the discovery that a number of machines are out of service.

He confirmed the committee called on the monitoring bodies – SAB and Financial Controllers Bureau (FCB), as well as the ministry, to ensure the petty cash is settled according to procedures in implementing the budget. He explained the petty cash deposit declined due to the funds transferred to overseas military missions in recent years.

In another development, MP Riyad Al-Adasani has forwarded a letter to the National Assembly about the court verdicts against Airbus. The letter included various recommendations such as asking the government to submit a detailed report on the verdicts within one month after receiving the letter.

He urged the government to read the decision of the British Crown Court, review all the attached documents, and unveil its strategy in dealing with the issue and the relevant verdict. He clarified this is in line with the decision that the Cabinet issued on Feb 10, 2020 to assign the Fatwa and Legislation Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kuwait Airways Corporation (KAC) and other concerned institutions to take the necessary measures including the preparation of documents that the Anti-Corruption Public Authority needs to complete investigations.

He asked the Ministry of Finance to instruct the FCB to form a committee which will be tasked to check the procedures taken by KAC concerning the recent purchase and leasing contracts as per Article 10 of the FCB Law and submit its report to the Assembly.