Justice Minister Faleh Al-Azeb

KUWAIT: Minister of Justice and Minister of State for Assembly Affairs Faleh Al-Azeb stressed that both members of the judiciary and the board of trustees will have to file their financial statements by May 13 and those who fail to do so would be held legally accountable. Speaking at an open meeting held at the diwaniya of former vice president of the Municipal Council Jassar Al-Jassar, Azeb stressed that as the head of the Public Anti-Corruption Authority, he would never hesitate to refer violators to prosecution.

Responding to a question about the extradition of fugitive Fahd Al-Rajaan from Britain to Kuwait, Azeb said that he will be handed over soon to face a fair trial, because he had violated public funds. Azeb also stressed that grilling motions should be filed against the concerned ministers and not against the Prime Minister, and if a motion is found to be constitutional, the government has nothing to fear or hide.

He also said that the courts' notification representatives were not doing their jobs properly in terms of notifying prosecuted people about the hearings of cases filed against them. "Kuwait is a small country and it is not hard to reach any area," he said, warning that representatives failing to do their jobs properly would be held accountable along with their supervisors.

Island development

Kuwait Municipality Director Ahmad Al-Manfouhi issued an administrative decision forming a special team to study the Failaka island development project head by his deputy Faisal Al-Jumaa. According to the decision, the team will study all data about ownership on the island in order to overcome all the project's obstacles to help realize the development plan. The team will also include representatives from the ministries of defense, finance, electricity and water and public works, in addition to the housing, industries, and environment authorities as well as the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters.

Projects withdrawn

Minister of Public Works Abdulrahman Al-Mutawwa decided withdrawing the Wafra and Bidaa roundabout projects from a company contracted for it because it failed to meet the execution schedule. The minister also mandated the company to execute the projects at its own expense as stipulated in the penal clause agreed upon in the contracts signed with it.

Free Trade Zone

The Manpower Public Authority plans to legalize the statuses of commercial establishments located in blocks 1 and 3 of the Free Trade Zone and treat them as Kuwaiti private sector companies.

By A Saleh