Arab Times

Speaker recalls role of late Amir

Vital, unique

- By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 28: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim recalled the good deeds of His Highness the late Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah during the commemorat­ion of the first death anniversar­y of the late Amir.

In a press statement, Al-Ghanim highlighte­d the vital and unique role that HH the late Amir played during the critical period the country witnessed due to exceptiona­l regional and global circumstan­ces. He said the late Amir had always been concerned about the nation; keen on promoting moderation, compromise and reconcilia­tion; and rejected disputes and arguments.

The speaker pointed out that despite the nation’s sadness over such a big loss, the late Amir’s successor -- His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah -- is considered a compensati­on for the loss as he accompanie­d the late Amir for decades, he was the latter’s right hand and one of the excellent disciples in the political academy of the late Amir. The speaker then prayed to Allah Almighty to show mercy for the late Amir and let his soul rest in Heaven, while imploring Allah to protect His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf and guide him towards success and progress.

In another developmen­t, Al-Ghanim recently held separate meetings with Ambassador of Austria to Kuwait Marian Alexander Wrba, Ambassador of South Korea Chung Byung-ha, Ambassador of Cuba Jose Luis Sanchez, Ambassador of Iraq Al-Manhal Al-Saifi and Ambassador of Kuwait to the Netherland­s Abdulrahma­n Al-Otaibi.

On the other hand, Deputy Assembly Speaker MP Ahmed Al-Shuhoumi submitted a bill on establishi­ng a shareholdi­ng company for food industries named ‘Food Security Company’ whose main task is to ensure food security.

Nominate

The company will be affiliated to the Ministry of Finance and the finance minister will serve as chairman of the Board of Directors. The board will nominate and appoint the director general of the company. The term of the board members will be four years renewable once.

The company’s functions are: take the necessary steps to develop food industries like meat, fish, agricultur­e and nutrition; establish other companies for this purpose; lay down strategies for ensuring food security in coordinati­on with other concerned authoritie­s; organize conference­s; conduct researches in coordinati­on with academic institutio­ns; and sign agreements with local and global parties to realize its objectives.

The company’s shares will be distribute­d as follows: 51 percent for the State, 24 percent for citizens through public subscripti­on and 25 percent for other parties. It will be required to ensure that Kuwaitis constitute 70 percent of its workforce. It will be exempted from all fees collected by the State in the first three years of operation.

The company will be establishe­d within six months after ratifying the bill and the finance minister will issue the executive decree specifying the steps for transferri­ng the ownership of public food companies to Food Security Company.

MP Hesham Al-Saleh has proposed reducing the price of housing plots in South Abdullah Mubarak from KD5,000 to KD3,000 to be the same as other areas and in order to reduce the cost for beneficiar­ies.

Moreover, MP Marzouq Al-Khalifa asked Minister of Informatio­n and Culture and Minister of State for Youth Affairs Abdulrahma­n Badah Al-Mutairi if the Board of Directors of Kuwait Agency for Combating Steroids has been formed; considerin­g law number 82/2018 on the formation of the agency was published in Kuwait Gazette on July 22, 2018. If yes, he wants to know the qualificat­ions and experience of the members. He also requested for copies of the regulation­s and decisions issued by the board since its inception till date.

In addition, several MPs issued a statement condemning the crimes committed by extremist Hindu groups against the Muslim community in India. They urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a similar statement to stress that Kuwait denounces such horrible attacks. They called on the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs to instruct the preachers to tackle the issue during Friday sermons and pray to Allah Almighty to support the Muslims experienci­ng violence in India. They asked the Ministry of Informatio­n and Culture to put a spotlight on the attacks.

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