(MENAFN- Arab Times) KUWAIT CITY March 16: HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah was informed Monday that HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah has accepted the resignation of Minister of Public Works Electricity and Water Abdul- Aziz Al-Ibrahim. State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammed Al- Abdullah Al-Sabah said the Cabined has endorsed a decree on accepting the resignation of Al-Ibrahim and another decree assigning State Minister for Housing Affairs Yaser Aboul as acting Minister of Public Works Electricity and Water. Al-Ibrahim came under fire from MPs when he issued a statement claiming that the price for MPs who want to support the no-confidence motion against him has reached KD 350000 due to his efforts in combating corruption. MPs Ouda Al-Ruwaie and Abdul- Hameed Dashti had earlier unveiled their plan to grill the minister for accusing MPs of taking bribes. Several MPs have expressed willingness to support the noconfidence vote against the minister. Parliamentary sources said the MPs met earlier during which they decided to grill Al-Ibrahim and other ministers. Commenting on the minister's resignation majority of the MPs support the move but others resented it; claiming this will pave the way for the prevalence of corruption in the ministry. MP Nabil Al-Fadel sarcastically said he raises his headband up to greet the minister who resigned 'because he realized the gravity of the error and the dire consequences he will face.' He added the resignation will give the government National Assembly and the people enough time to rectify errors. He hopes the minister will stand firm by his decision to resign.
MPAbdullah Al-Ruwaie argued the minister's resignation will not push through as the interpellation request he submitted against the latter has already been processed; hence whatever step the minister takes from this point onwards is null and void. He explained the interpellation is not aimed at offending or discriminating against the minister and his political position because the aim is to hold the minister responsible for his negligence in numerous cases. He then called on his fellow MPs to refrain from announcing their stance prior to the interpellation urging them to use the result of the interpellation as the main motive behind their decision to stand against the minister.
On the alleged involvement of MPs in bribery Al-Ruwaie asserted the concerned authorities such as the anti-corruption body should look into the issue since it falls within its jurisdiction. Despite indications that some MPs are advocates for whatever is good while others support the opposite Al-Ruwaie believes certain MPs are still driven by their honest and uninfluenced convictions describing them as 'free willed votes'.
On the other hand MP Rakan Al-Nisf asserted the minister is one of the most competent ministers who worked towards eliminating corruption so his resignation will be considered a victory for the corrupt. In another development MP Hamdan Al-Azmi disclosed his intention to present a draft bill to amend the Elections Law to return to the old system four votes and five constituencies. He also recommended amendment of constituencies to include areas not covered by the Elections Law. He explained the amended law will give all Kuwaitis the right to vote for their representatives in the Parliament. 'Everyone knows we boycotted the parliamentary elections in December 2012 due to our reservations on the one-manone- vote decree. However we were keen on participating in the 2013 elections; that is after the Constitutional Court upheld the decree' he added.
According to the lawmaker when he realized there is no other way to amend this law except through the Abdullah Al- Salem Hall; he decided to announce his plan to present a draft bill to amend the law. He hopes his colleagues will understand that it is now time to get out of the political congestion. 'We have to unite in order to prevent division of the people. We have to unite in building the nation as it has been proven time and again that the country continues to lag behind its neighbors due to the government's inability to push the development wheels forward' he asserted.
The lawmaker went on to say the oneman- one-vote system was proven to be a failure when it produced a Parliament which attacks anyone who opposes it. 'Our Parliament acts like a government more than the government itself. The current government has secured 80 percent of the incumbent MPs so where is development under such circumstances? Unfortunately we see nothing but corruption and wastage of public money in all State institutions' he lamented.
Meanwhile Youth and Sports Committee Chairman MP Abdullah Al- Mayouf confirmed that the panel has approved the proposed amendment of the Sports Law; such that the sports clubs should hold their elections based on the one-vote system. He said this is in addition to the transformation of some specialized clubs into unions like the Equestrian Bowling and Shooting clubs. He added the committee also endorsed the proposal to establish a sports circle in the Administrative Court to handle administrative conflicts in sports clubs. He revealed the committee will present its report on the bill to the Parliament in order to include it in the agenda for the March 24 session. He affirmed the amendment of the election system for the sports clubs will serve the interests of the local sports sector in addition to putting Kuwaiti teams back to the awarding podiums in the regional and Asian sports arenas.
By: Abubakar A. Ibrahim and Ahmed Al-Naqeeb Arab Times Staff
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