KUWAIT: Minister of Public Works announced yesterday that officials suspected of slacking and complacency or negligence in dealing with last year's heavy rains will be interrogated. These leaders in the public works department, along with others, will be referred to the Anti-Corruption Authority (Nazaha) next week for interrogations, said Jenan Bushehri, who is also the Minister of State for Housing Affairs.

They will be subject to an inquiry at the offices of the Civil Service Commission, she said at a news conference held at the public works ministry. Simultaneously, a probe will be conducted at the ministry regarding the recent "rain crisis", she added. Kuwait witnessed torrential rain late last year, inflicting widespread damage, swamping roads and public places. The heavy rains were reportedly unprecedented since the past 50 years.

Fahd Al-Rkaibi, the head of the special commission for probing repercussions of the "rain crisis", attended the news conference. Bushehri indicated that her decision to grill the suspected officials was based on the commission report, hinting that some of the senior civil servants would be suspended from work. The minister added the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) and the ministry of housing would be informed of the companies that had been absolved of responsibility and those that had been found guilty. Bushehri affirmed that repairing the roads that were damaged in the heavy downpour had already begun, indicating willingness to use good quality asphalt for repaving. - KUNA