(MENAFN- Arab Times) KUWAIT CITY April 13: MP Mansour Al- Zoufairi has stressed the need to stop emission of toxic gas from the electricity and water desalination plants in Doha considering its harmful effects on the residents in Jaber Al-Ahmed. He claimed the power plants in the country have become major sources of air pollution due to the emission of toxic gases particularly sulfur and nitrogen oxides from the high sulfur content of burning fuel.
He explained the fuel being used in power plants is harmful due to its four percent sulfur content. He pointed out some experts have warned about the dangerous repercussions of burning heavy fuel in Doha power plant because the smoke contains toxic chemical components that could reach even those areas which are several kilometers away from the plant. He regards the power stations as major sources of air pollution; hence the need to change the quality of fuel used in the process of burning in order to protect the environment and public health.
He asserted that failure to address the problem now may lead to more serious issues in the future especially since indicators have started to appear such as the increasing rate of respiratory diseases and cancer due to high pollution levels specifically in Jaber Al-Ahmed.
Also he wants to know the results of the work carried out by the joint committee between the Environment Authority Public (EPA) and the Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) which was tasked to address the problem. Meanwhile MP Saleh Ashour has presented a draft bill to amend Law Number 28/1996 on the pharmacy profession and sale of medicines. He disclosed the bill aims to generate employment opportunities for Kuwaiti pharmacists in the private sector while preventing companies from monopolizing the medicine distribution market and the pharmacy profession. The bill stipulates amendment of Article Two to be as follows: A private pharmacy must operate only if a license is obtained from the Ministry of Health.
This license will be issued only to accredited Kuwaiti pharmacists private hospitals with bed capacity of not be less than 50 beds and the cooperative societies provided their licenses are under the name of Kuwaiti entities. Drugstores are not allowed to open a branch or more anywhere while the distance between pharmacies should not be less than 100 meters.
For cooperative societies serving more than one residential area the Ministry of Health will issue a license to open one pharmacy or a branch in every area and the license of each branch must be in the name of a Kuwaiti pharmacist independent from the other.
The prime minister and ministers shall implement the bill from the date of its publication in the official gazette. In another development MP Abdullah Al-Turaiji has forwarded questions to Minister of Finance and acting Minister of Commerce and Industry Anas Al-Saleh about a Kuwaiti customs service employee who was arrested for drug smuggling. It has been reported the citizen smuggled 100 kilos of hashish and 100000 Captagon pills from Iraq.
He wants to know if the minister is aware that the suspect is a customs service employee as well as the procedures taken and other pertinent details. In the meantime Rapporteur of the Handicapped Affairs Committee MP Saud Al-Huraiji has affirmed the panel's commitment to improve the lives of people with disabilities and their families. He enumerated areas that need improvement like housing job opportunities and general services. He said the panel discussed several proposals concerning the handicapped such as full payment of indemnity for those caring for people with special needs while the years of service before retirement had been reduced to 15 years for men and 10 years for women including those in the military. Furthermore MP Abdulrahman Al- Jeeran has announced his national reform initiative and called on every citizen to participate. He explained this initiative aims to strengthen national unity considering the mounting tension in the region. He urged National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim to invite all those who served as representatives of the people since the inception of the Parliament indicating the initiative should be sponsored by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. He said this initiative must focus on the pillars for building civilizations like respect for the law and constitutional rights self control in dealing with false accusations prevention of malicious demonstrations which lead to nothing but more issues and enforcement of the Anti- Corruption Law.
By: Abubakar A. Ibrahim and Ahmed Al-Naqeeb Arab Times Staff
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