KUWAIT: MP Khalil Al-Saleh said that a grilling motion he intends to file against Oil Minister Ali Al-Omair included remarks about the oil sector as well as violations committed at the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR). He added that support for his grilling motion was growing amongst lawmakers.

Meanwhile, the Islamic Salafi Alliance showed full support to minister Omair, who is considered one of its members, and called for keeping him in office with full governmental support or dismissing him to go back to his parliamentary position as an MP, according to sources. The alliance added that there were no signs so far that the government strongly supports Omair and that, in such case, the alliance agrees to dismissing him from office without reshuffling him to another portfolio.

Strategic payroll

The government is yet to refer the strategic payroll project to the parliament due to its high financial cost, sources said. The sources added that the government was still reviewing all suggested amendments and strongly denied any intention to cancel it.

Expat employees

Responding to the grilling motion filed against her by MP Mohammad Al-Enezi, Minister of Social Affairs and Labor Hind Al-Subaih recently asked for a report about employing expatriates at the Public Authority for the Disabled merely for profiteering. Making sure the information were true, the minister decided to dismiss the expat workers and replace them with Kuwaiti employees. Subaih also formed a special committee to study the points mentioned in Enezi's grilling motion to respond to them.

Separately, MP Enezi warned officials responsible for projects underway in Jahra of manipulating or delaying those projects because "Jahra is the least publically served governorate in Kuwait." Enezi pointed out that due to manipulation and violations, it would be impossible to finish the Jahra hospital and the ministries' complex projects in time.

Committees meet

Six parliamentary committees are due to meet today to review their agendas in the absence of cabinet members, said informed sources. The committees include the legislative and legal affairs, the financial and economic affairs, the special needs affairs, national human resources affairs and the housing affairs committees in addition to a committee entrusted with investigating Kuwait's foreign investments.

Senior officials

MP Yousif Al-Zalzalah stressed that some cabinet members are currently trying to appoint some close people in leading positions in their ministries before a law on appointing senior officials is passed during the current parliamentary term.

Oil fields

Kuwait and Iraq are scheduled to discuss joint oil investments on the meeting of a joint higher committee next month, said informed sources, noting that a team of technicians from both countries had prepared a study on investing oil fields on the borders between the two countries.

By A Saleh, Staff Writer