Clubs mull reducing sports
KUWAIT: Kuwaiti sport clubs are considering a proposal by the Public Authority for Sport (PAS) to reduce the number of sports played so that they would include only football, basketball, handball, volleyball, athletics and a sixth one to be selected by each club. PAS sent the proposal to clubs for study and a meeting is scheduled to be held within a fortnight to discuss clubs’ opinions.
PAS denied that the reduction would affect the total sum of government subsidies to sports of KD 750,000 and stressed that the aim was to have clubs focus on six sports only and thus produce more competent players for national teams in those games, so that they could compete in continental and international championships. Moreover, informed sources said other sports would still be practiced in special clubs and youth centers.
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Development and Planning Hind Al-Subaih stressed that the ministry’s social aid was on top of the ministry’s priorities because aid sums are part of public funds and have to be protected, in addition to retrieving sums unlawfully paid. Subaih said initial investigations showed that 71,69 social aid files had been permanently suspended since 1994 and that the ministry had not acted so far to retrieve the sum of KD 12,450,000 unlawfully paid to nondeserving recipients. “This reflects severe dereliction and those responsible will be severely punished for wasting public funds,” she underlined, pointing out that investigations in this regard would be over next week. Subaih added that another 3,400 files had been suspended a few years earlier and that investigations were in progress to determine whether the aid sums should be recollected. Moreover, Subaih highlighted that according to ministry’s statistics, there are over than 1,000 cases filed by the ministry against unlawful recipients of social aid and that 8,800 citizens had been urged to update their information with the ministry, but only 4,800 of them responded by presenting documents proving that they deserve social aid.