By B Izzak

KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem sent to the government on Wednesday a law passed by the Assembly to give a grant of KD 3,000 to all retired Kuwaitis. The move comes in order to speed up the payment of the handout, which can be done only after HH the Amir signs the legislation for it to become effective.

In his letter to caretaker Prime Minister HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah, the speaker vowed to continue to work for the benefit of retired people, adding he will leave insignificant matters to others, alluding to a number of opposition MPs who boycotted the Assembly session on Tuesday that passed the law, which will benefit some 160,000 pensioners. The Public Institution for Social Security, the agency that looks after pensioners, said it was ready and prepared to deposit the grant in the accounts of retired people as soon as the government approves the law.

Meanwhile, a group calling themselves the Diwaniyas of Kuwait, called on MPs and the government on Wednesday to reach a compromise to lift Kuwait out of lingering disputes that have plunged the country into a deep political crisis. The group urged the two sides in a statement to work together to salvage Kuwait's democracy and resolve all outstanding issues between the two bodies to be able to serve the interests of the country.

As many as 17 opposition MPs continued on Wednesday their open and indefinite sit-in protest in the National Assembly building to protest against preventing the Assembly from holding sessions. Some of the lawmakers, who are sleeping in their assembly offices, complained that electricity and air-conditioning was cut off from their offices and people were stopped from visiting them. But the Secretariat General of the National Assembly said the lights are programmed to go off in the MPs' office building to save power after working hours. This system has been in effect since the opening of the building in 2016 on the instructions of the ministry of electricity and water.