KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem attends the parliament’s session yesterday. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat and KUNA

KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister and his Cabinet swore in and took the constitutional oath at the start of the National Assembly’s ordinary session yesterday, to commence work as part of the assembly according to article 91 of the constitution. Several opposition members of parliament walked out of the session in protest to government’s constitutional oath procedures. Article 91 of the constitution states that before taking up his functions at the Assembly or at its committees, a member of the National Assembly shall, at a public meeting of the Assembly, take the constitutional oath. An Amiri order on November 23 decreed the appointment of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah as Prime Minister and tasked him with forming new Cabinet. Last week, an Amiri decree was issued appointing the new Cabinet of 15 ministers, Headed by Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

Later, the National Assembly elected committee members to occupy vacancies for the second regular session of the 16th legislative term. The parliament recommended MP Khalil Al-Saleh as a complementary member in the Committee for Internal Affairs and Defense and MP Nasser Al-Dousari as a complementary member in the Legislative and Legal Affairs Committee. Kuwait’s Parliament named MP Osama Al-Shaheen as a member in the Public Utilities Committee and MP Mubarak Al-Hajraf in the Environmental Committee. It also elected MP Hmoud Al-Azmi a member in the Parliamentary Budgets and Final Accounts Committee.

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah takes the constitutional oath at parliament yesterday.

Assembly OKs letters

Furthermore, the National Assembly agreed on several letters in its regular session. The parliament agreed to delegate Speaker Marzouq Ali Al-Ghanem to talk MP Yousef Al-Fadhala out of resignation. The National Assembly approved a request by MP Saleh Al-Mutairi to assign a committee to study recent murders and find solutions “to this phenomenon” from legal, religious, social and psychological perspectives. Also during the session, the parliament approved MP Abdulaziz Al-Saqabi’s request to build labor towns and ensure workers’ rights in line with relevant international conventions.

A letter by MP Adnan Abdulsamad was also blessed by the parliament to issue a new law to establish a public company to observe increase of meat prices and combat commodities’ monopoly. The National Assembly examined letters by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in which he expressed his appreciation and gratitude for the MPs for congratulating him for his first anniversary of assuming power and his safe return to the country after a private vacation. The parliament also agreed on several letters tackling interior affairs and laws.

Grilling request

Also during the session, MP Hamdan Al-Azmi filed a request to grill the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sheikh Hamad Jaber Al-Ali Al-Sabah. The grilling motion is mainly based on five aspects. They encompass “enrolling women in army”, “ignoring State Audit Bureau’s remarks on a Eurofighter deal”, “failing to cooperate with regulatory agencies or replying to parliamentary queries”, “failing to safeguard state-owned lands”, and “non-compliance with Cabinet decrees on recruitments”.

The motion is based on Article 100 of the Kuwaiti Constitution, which allows MPs to address grilling requests against the prime minister and Cabinet ministers in their capacities as such. Meanwhile, Speaker Ghanem announced he has received the interpellation request from Azmi against the defense minister, noting that it will be considered during the coming ordinary sitting. In the meantime, the defense minister said at the end of the parliament debate that he stands prepared to refute the aspects of the motion. — KUNA