The National Assembly

KUWAIT: Nine
lawmakers yesterday submitted a letter calling on the Legal and Legislative
Committee to quickly review a proposal stipulating that the government
purchases bank debt owed by Kuwaiti citizens. MP Majed Al-Mutairi, who renewed
a year's-old proposal that was rejected in the past, said nine lawmakers signed
a letter asking the Legal Committee to clear the constitutional aspects of the
proposal. If approved, it will go to the financial and economic affairs
committee to study details and cost of the proposal.

The initiative
calls on the government to purchase all consumer and installment loans owed by
Kuwaiti citizens to help them meet rising cost of living demands. Mutairi said
earlier that the proposal will not cost state coffers anything since the
government will use its huge deposits with local banks and investment
companies.

The lawmaker said
that state deposits at local banks, about KD 10 billion according to unofficial
estimates, are placed at very low interest rates and if the government raises
those rates slightly it can utilize the difference in paying for citizens'
loans over several years. As of now, there are no official estimates of
citizens' loans at banks but previously they were put at around KD 4 billion.
Mutairi said his proposal had received impressive backing from within the
National Assembly. 

MP Osama
Al-Shaheen yesterday warned of an imminent crisis of lamb meat in the country
based on information that Australia, the main live cattle exporter to Kuwait,
plans to suspend its supplies for a few months every year. The lawmaker said
that consumers were recently surprised by a sharp rise in the price of lamb
meat, double the previous price in some cases, based on reports of the expected
Australian export ban.

He asked the
Commerce and Industry Minister Khaled Al-Roudhan if the reports that Australia
will stop exporting sheep to Kuwait for two to four months every year starting
2019, were correct.  He asked the minister
about what measures the ministry has taken if the news were correct. Shaheed
also asked the minister about the role of the consumers protection department
in safeguarding the interests of the people. The lawmaker also asked if the
export stoppage was only for Kuwait or it includes other countries. 

MP Al-Humaidi
Al-Subaie said yesterday he will not vote in favor of the second and final
reading of the early retirement law if it was not amended.  The law was passed in the first reading after
a number of key government amendments were accepted but several MPs want to see
changes to the law before approving it.