ShareKUWAIT: An Arab advisor working for the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) was referred to the public prosecution on charges of receiving hundreds of thousands of dinars in bribes from companies that have contracts with the ministry, Undersecretary Mohammed Bushehri announced yesterday. "Upon instructions from Minister Ahmed Al-Jassar, who had been tipped off concerning the advisor's activity, the ministry coordinated with criminal investigators and the suspect was caught red-handed," Bushehri explained. By tracking the suspect's bank account, hundreds of thousands of dinars were discovered, deposited by the companies working with the ministry, Bushehri added. He also noted that the companies involved would also be held accountable.
Social allowances
Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Planning and Development Hind Al-Subaih stressed that the ministry was investigating why some citizens had been unlawfully receiving social allowances. Speaking on attending a workshop on designing and executing social security networks in the Middle East and North Africa region organized by the World Bank, MSAL and IMF, Subaih stressed that such workshops aimed at providing social aid as well as turning social security recipients into productive people through crafts and small projects.
Commenting on reports about her intention to reshuffle her assistant undersecretaries, Subaih denied such intentions for the time being, noting that any reshuffling would only be done for greater good and not just for the sake of reshuffling. Commenting on co-operative societies' problems, Subaih stressed that Sulaibikhat Co-op Society's board had been dissolved, while Sulaibiya Co-op Society's board would be dismissed soon since it has already resigned. She added that the treasurer of Rabiya Co-op Society had made some complaints about corruption and violations, but had not provided enough proof and failed to show up several times to investigate his claims.
Court orders
In other news, the comprehensive court yesterday ordered Dasma and Bneid Al-Gar Co-op Society to pay a fruit supply company the sum of KD 194,000 the co-op owed it and had been reluctant to pay. Separately, the comprehensive court also fined a citizen KD 4,000 for insulting a police officer on duty. The court of misdemeanor had fined the suspect KD 50 in absentia, but he contested the verdict before the comprehensive court, which rejected his appeal and fined him KD 4,000.
Sport officials
The parliament's sports and youth committee yesterday met to discuss the suspension of Kuwaiti sport activities, said the committee chairman MP Abdullah Maayouf, noting that the committee decided to summon sport officials next week to investigate the matter.
By A Saleh
