KUWAIT: MP Kamel Al-Awadhi said the establishment of a Kuwaiti company for recruiting domestic helpers is about to be completed and only final touches are still needed before it is officially launched. Finance Minister Anas Al-Saleh has already approved the company's founding committee's formation, capital, share value and distribution to shareholders, the lawmaker said. The parliament last year approved the creation of a shareholding company to handle the recruitment of domestic helpers in Kuwait.

Grilling postponed

In other news, MP Fares Al-Otaibi said after declaring his intention to grill the finance minister over lifting subsidies, he received various calls from the government to talk him out of his plans. "Within a few days following filing my grilling motion, the government made some tangible decisions to put things back on the right track including going back on its decision to increase fuel prices in a Cabinet meeting held on January 3," he claimed, adding that since the issue became one of public concern, the government announced intentions to refer to the parliament a study on lifting subsidies for review by relevant committees. "Accordingly, I have decided postponing my grilling motion of the finance minister," he said, noting that he had been promised by the finance minister himself to discuss the matter with the parliament and not to take any unilateral decision in this regard.

Abuse of power

MP Ahmad Al-Qudhaibi warned Minister of Commerce and Industry Yousif Al-Ali of returning gravel mining lands previously withdrawn from companies for violating the industry authority's conditions to the same firms. "The minister must respect the allocation committee's decisions and not interfere in its work," he underlined, accusing Ali of abusing his powers and describing such a step as 'violation of public funds'.

Anticorruption bill

MP Faisal Al-Kandari stressed that approving the anticorruption bill reflects a state of government-parliament persistence on boosting monitoring tools. He said the previous bill annulled by a court order was replaced by another more accurate one that mandates politicians and senior government officials to file financial disclosure statements that would impose strict monitoring and help fight corruption.

Bedoon martyrs

MP Askar Al-Enezi filed a proposal calling for including bedoon (stateless) martyrs, their children and military bedoons who had taken part in Kuwait's liberation war to lists of bedoons deserving Kuwaiti citizenship.

By A Saleh