Kuwaiti MP questions government approach to tackling corruption
The Kuwaiti government’s decision to remedy the country’s corruption problems by forming a review committee is silly, an opposition MP said.
This week, the government formed a body to reinstate a Transparency International chapter, a non-government organisation responsible for assessing 180 countries.
Transparency places Kuwait at a five-year low on the Corruption Perceptions Index, an annual assessment.
Safaa Al Hashem, a populist MP and the only woman in parliament, said the government is complacent when it comes to corruption.
“Your committee is silly, distasteful and without colour. If the prime minister wants to fight corruption he needs to get rid of the consultants that are making us lose the plot,” she told Al Rai daily.
The committee was formed by the cabinet on Monday to implement reforms in sustainable development and transparency, and create ways to improve Kuwait’s position on the index.
“It is ironic that the government fights MPs seeking to fight corruption, considering the regretful status of Kuwait in the CPI,” said MP Waleed Al Tabtabaie.
The government has taken steps to demonstrate the committee is not merely windowdressing.
On Tuesday, Minister of Interior Sheikh Khaled Jarrah Al Sabah suspended seven senior staff pending an investigation.
Local media reported the issue arose when the ministry’s hospitality budget was audited. It was reported to have jumped from $3 million (Dh11m) to $73m last year.
The Kuwait Transparency Society (KTS), an organisation that serves as Transparency International’s local chapter, was suspended in 2015.
According to Transparency International, the elected board of directors was dissolved and replaced with government appointees.
“In order to protect the staff and membership of KTS ... Transparency International’s board has passed a resolution suspending the organisation until further notice,” it said.
Kuwait accused KTS of interfering in political matters and launched an investigation after the society’s chairman was alleged to have insulted parliament.