MP strongly urges monitoring institutions to intensify their efforts in following up contracting procedures
KUWAIT CITY, April 14: MP Abdulkareem Al-Kandari strongly urged the monitoring institutions to intensify their efforts in following up contracting procedures carried out by the government during the coronavirus crisis.
He clarified that expediting and simplifying procedures and removing obstacles do not necessarily mean absence of monitoring. He warned against the lack of control as it exposes public money to danger caused by greedy traders who are taking advantage of the crisis to make illegal gains.
On the other hand, MP Khalid AlOtaibi unveiled his plan to withdraw the proposal to allocate a session for discussion of the evacuation of citizens from abroad that he and a number of his colleagues submitted earlier. He decided to take this step after the government presented its plan, which includes the evacuation of citizens starting from Sunday.
In addition, MP Riyad Al-Adasani said Finance Minister Barrak AlShitan should resign or face grilling because he failed to present alternative solutions, considering the government did not withdraw the Public Loan Bill.
He stressed that he will not allow Kuwait to become a debtor State due to the inefficient financial strategy adopted by the minister. He asserted the Future Generations Fund stands on solid ground and Kuwait does not need to obtain loans. He said he had earlier presented solutions which are better than recommendations of AlShitan but the government has not responded till date.
In a related development, MP Safa’a Al-Hashem criticized the decision of Al-Shitan to refer the Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) to the Anti-Corruption Public Authority (NAZAHA) based on an “ambiguous” report. She pointed out the report is formal and lacks political wisdom, since it does not consider the status quo and the current financial crisis.
She said Al-Shitan seemed to convey a negative message to the global financial indexes about Kuwait when he drew their attention to the alleged dishonest investments of PIFSS. She argued this will negatively affect the financial classification of Kuwait, especially if the government submits a bill on obtaining loans. She added Al-Shitan ignored the reformative efforts exerted by the new executive board of PIFSS, headed by Mesha’al Al-Othman, to remedy the situation caused by the policy of former PIFSS Chairman Fahd Al Raja’an.
She went on to say that she intends to support with evidence the grilling that might be submitted against AlShitan. “It is a disaster that Al-Shitan remains in his office until now,” she concluded.