HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah

KUWAIT: MP Riyadh Al-Adasani threatened yesterday that he will file to grill HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah over allegations that the government pays funds to lawmakers. Adasani gave the government and the prime minister until Thursday to issue a statement denying or confirming statements attributed to pro-government MP Ahmad Al-Fadhl saying the government "will pay to lawmakers before the summer".

The latest controversy was sparked by a video posted on social media of MP Fadhl in which he says that the government will be making payments to lawmakers before the summer. Fadhl later explained that the video is one year old and is not an indication of the government paying to MPs. He said that almost all lawmakers act as mediators to help needy Kuwaiti citizens by taking their cases to concerned government bodies which offer cash assistance after proving that those citizens needed the money.

Fadhl said he and other lawmakers do this on regular basis as a way to help Kuwaitis who need financial assistance. He said they take those cases along with the necessary supporting documents to the concerned government bodies like the council of ministers or the Amiri diwan. The lawmaker insisted that the cash assistance is then paid directly to the beneficiary and not through the lawmakers.

Fadhl also revealed that the video was posted on social media by former MP Mohammad Al-Juwaihel whom he mediated to get him an assistance of KD 40,000 but was not approved. But MP Adasani said Fadhl's statements are a clear proof that the government is controlling some lawmakers through such payments describing this as "extreme corruption".

He denied Fadhl's claim that all MPs receive such cash assistance from the government, insisting that he has never mediated such aid for anyone and will never do this. Adasani said the government must issue a statement to explain the issue before Thursday otherwise he will file to grill the prime minister on that day over the issue.

By B Izzak