‘Finance’ is waiting for Assembly’s response regarding new fuel prices

ICB to declare soon whether or not to participate in polls

KUWAIT CITY, April 1: Undersecretary of Ministry of Finance Khalifa Hamada says the ministry is waiting for the response of the National Assembly concerning the government’s proposal for the new prices of fuel, reports Al-Anba daily.

Meanwhile, Rapporteur of the parliament’s Finance Committee MP Faisal Al-Shaye explained that the committee received the government’s suggestion concerning the new prices of electricity. However, the suggestion will not be considered as the final decision, as the committee intends to present some modifications to it.

Since the average monthly electricity consumption is about 9,000KW, he revealed that the committee has suggested charging 2 fils for the first 6,000 units, indicating that the committee intends to present other suggestions as well.

Al-Shaye said studies have shown that the average consumption of electricity in most houses is about 12,000 KW per month, which currently costs about KD24. However, this will increase to KD 120 if the electricity prices suggested by the government are applied.

Regarding the issue of relocating farmlands, Undersecretary of Ministry of Finance Khalifa Hamada explained that the ministry and the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) have finished counting and evaluating the farmlands. The ministry has asked Kuwait Municipality to issue building licenses to the farms.

He affirmed that the State Property Affairs Department will compensate the owners of those farms that are in the way of the railway project, after obtaining necessary information in this regard from Kuwait Municipality and PAAAFR.

When asked whether the compensations will come in the form of providing alternative farmland, Hamada said no directives have been issued in this regard.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Constitutional Bloc (ICB) will soon declare whether or not they will participate in the upcoming elections. However, their recent statements indicate that they are likely to participate in the elections, reports Al-Rai daily.

In this context, former MP and member of the Islamic Constitutional Bloc Dr Jama’an Al-Harbash posted a series of statements on his Twitter account. He requested the opposition to take up responsibility and rescue the country from its current situation. He demanded the government to leave, stressing that the economic reform program presented by the “government of sheikhs and traders” will have catastrophic impacts on the limited-income citizens who make 95 percent of the people of Kuwait. He stressed that the government has little concern for this category of people.

Dr Al-Harbash indicated that the new prices of electricity and water, which have been increased by four to five times, will increase the financial burdens of the citizens.

In the meantime, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Electricity and Water Engineer Mohammed Bushehri affirmed that the sector will save operation costs of about 40 percent if the new tariff for electricity and water is applied.

He added the ministry needs about one year to prepare for application of the new tariffs and spread awareness on energy conservation through the use of modern techniques.

He made the disclosure at a press conference on the sidelines of the monthly seminar held at the center for the development of water resources in coordination with the Women Cultural Society.