SAB criticizes MPW for not using budget allocated for 34 projects
‘Probe accuracy of methods used to study required budget’ India-Kuwait ink joint cultural agreement to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 13: The State Audit Bureau criticized the Ministry of Public Works for not benefiting from the budget allocated for 34 projects in the budget
of 2020/2021 fiscal year, totaling about KD 22 million, reports Al-Qabas daily.
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 13: The Indian Embassy in Kuwait and the National Council of Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) during a joint press conference at the Kuwait National Library headquarters, signed a joint cultural agreement on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between both countries.
Addressing the media, the NCCAL Secretary-General Kamel Abdul Jalil lavished praises on the relationship between both nations and thanked the Indian ambassador for exerting efforts to place this relationship on a higher pedestal while at the same time highlighting the excellent bilateral relations between India and Kuwait, especially the age-old people to people connect, civilizational affinities, mutual desire and keen interest to further strengthen this already close relationship in the cultural domain.
The secretary-general also said today’s meeting was to announce the year-long activities which are being organized jointly by the Indian Embassy and the NCCAL to celebrate the 60th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Kuwait during which a series of joint events have been planned to cover the entire spectrum of culture, art and letters.
The Indian Ambassador, HE Sibi George, for his part, said the cultural weeks will cover the screening of Indian movies, culture performances, seminars on historic relations between India and Kuwait, wellness,
tourism opportunities, joint musical evenings, joint activities on antiquities and tracking maritime trade routes, clothing and pottery exhibitions, symposium on the connect between India and Kuwaiti cuisines and even the currency and jewelry exhibitions.
The ambassador went on to say, “We have shared some details today, but we will have more details in coming weeks on each of the events planned. Our objective is to involve all our Kuwaiti friends and Indian community in these celebrations and make it a memorable year in our relationship.”
“Our ties are time tested; they have been built over strong foundations by our peoples over centuries based on mutual trust and respect. Over time, nurtured by vibrant people to people connect and civilizational affinities, the partnership has blossomed
into a forward looking dynamic partnership. I am confident that this relationship will continue to prosper and evolve into a new age, New India-New Kuwait dynamic partnership connecting the visions of the leadership of our two friendly countries for mutual development and progress of the peoples of our two countries based on a roadmap drawn by our leaderships, and this joint collaborative year-long celebrations by NCCAL and Embassy are part of this road map,” said the Ambassador.
The ambassador thanked the leadership of the State of Kuwait for hosting the large Indian community in Kuwait and expressed his gratitude to H.E. Mr. Kamel Abdul Jalil, Secretary General, NCCAL and the NCCAL team for their efforts in further promoting the current cultural relationship between India and Kuwait.
The bureau revealed that the ministry did not spend a penny on those projects during the aforementioned year.
It asked the ministry to investigate the accuracy of the methods used to study the required budget and the actual need to implement its programs and plans in light of its capacity and in order to benefit from the available financial resources.
The bureau stressed the need for the ministry to develop its capabilities to suit the needs of implementing budget programs, and to achieve good use of budget appropriations for the purposes allocated to them.
In its response, the Ministry of Public Works attributed the matter to the exceptional circumstances and health precautionary measures in Kuwait and various countries of the world.
Affected
It explained that this affected the possibility of providing the necessary labor as a result of the partial and total lockdowns, as well as resulted in the inability to obtain materials either from local sources or the global market due to the closure. Many of the contractors and consulting offices were not able to implement their obligations to complete the expected work percentages on which the financial appropriations were estimated.
However, the State Audit Bureau rejected these justifications, referring to these observations in its report for the previous fiscal year, which witnessed the non-disbursement of 24 projects.
It stressed that the repetition of the observation indicates that the ministry did not take serious measures to avoid it.
In this context, the bureau affirmed that the lack of preparation and coordination with the relevant authorities caused the failure in putting forward five contracts to complete construction projects, despite the completion of the design work for some of them more than five years ago, and the delay in the completion of others from the consultancy agreements affiliated with those contracts, amounting to a total disbursed amount of KD 5.5 million.
It stated that the delay exposes these contracts to modification due to the passage of time periods between the design and implementation works, which leads to an increase in the total cost of the contract and the failure to benefit from those projects in the time specified for them.