Failure to allocate budget caused 'loose gravel'

KUWAIT: The Amiri amnesty committees recently started reviewing the names of inmates matching the amnesty conditions pending submitting the final lists after excluding those convicted for murder, drug trafficking, financial crimes and violating others' rights without getting waivers. However, the public prosecution rejected a proposal by the Interior Ministry's correctional facilities sector to include inmates imprisoned in state security-related cases to benefit from the annual Amiri pardon during the national and liberation days, when they either get immediate release or have their time reduced to half or one quarter.

Loose gravel

Well-informed sources at the Ministry of Public Works (MPW) blamed the finance ministry for MPW's failure to solve the problem of 'loose gravel' along various streets over the past three years, because the finance ministry refused to allocate a KD 60 million budget for road maintenance. The sources explained that under former minister Ahmed Al-Jassar, MPW requested the budget, which was once rejected and then postponed. In a related development, official municipal sources said Kuwait Municipality has removed over 10,000 cubic meters of gravel over the past 20 days from various highways and roads. In other news, Kuwait Municipality Director Ahmed Al-Manfouhi said the municipality's executive body sees no problems in handing over the site located to the south of Um Al-Haiman to the public authority for housing welfare to build a new city there.

Jahra labor city

Municipality's deputy director for engineering projects affairs Nadya Al-Shereeda stressed that the municipality will honor its responsibilities. Responding to a proposal by Municipal Council members Humoud Al-Enezi and Abdul Wahab Boresli concerning subjecting the labor cities' projects to the manpower authority, Shereeda stressed it is an integral part of the municipality's responsibilities to support the state's plans to encourage more private sector contribution in developing government projects through partnerships. She added that Jahra labor city will be the first project to be offered for investment through a public-private-partnership (PPP) agreement by the end of 2019.

Health services

Health Minister Sheikh Dr Basel Al-Sabah stressed that the government plans to develop Kuwait's health system and services. Responding to an inquiry by MP Essa Al-Kandari, Sheikh Basel said development projects aim at boosting the health ministry's capabilities and readiness to deal with various health contingencies and provide protection against various epidemics as per WHO's international health regulations (IHR) 2005. Sheikh Basel said more medical cooperation is in progress with international universities and hospitals by annually inviting over 250 consultants in various medical specialties, holding medical conferences and workshops to exchange expertise, update treatment protocols and implement medical and technical cooperation agreements, in addition to enhancing the role played by the private sector in providing health services by adjusting the private medical facilities law as well as updating various medical legislations.

University project

The State Audit Bureau expected the Sabah Al-Salem University City project to be concluded by 2025, explaining that the project had been delayed due to the time needed to have the necessary government approvals issued. In its report, the Audit Bureau listed a number of reasons for the delay, including the constant change of various colleges' requirements, the site's mismanagement and repeated fires, which cost the project budget an extra KD 3 billion.

By A Saleh