(MENAFN- Arab Times) The Gulf Security Agreement should be discussed fully while deliberations should not be restricted to the Parliament and government because the opinions of numerous constitutional experts are required to totally understand all aspects of the issue, says MP Abdulhameed Dashti. Dashti made the statement in response to Minister of Oil and State Minister for National Assembly Affairs Dr Ali Al- Omair who spoke on behalf of the government during the debate on the agreement at the Parliament Tuesday.
He affirmed the government has thoroughly discussed the agreement and concluded that is in accordance with the State's Constitution. The minister affirmed every aspect of the agreement is constructive, indicating the government will not refer anything deemed unconstitutional to the Parliament. He then requested for referral of the agreement to the Foreign Affairs Committee to prepare for its discussion in the Assembly.
However, Dashti argued Article Four of the agreement contradicts articles 31 and 30 of the Constitution, while highlighting the ambiguity of some paragraphs. This has prompted the lawmaker to call for an extensive meeting between all concerned authorities to deliberate on the agreement. In the meantime, the Parliament on Tuesday approved the Public Utilities Committee's report on the proposed establishment of the second livestock company in its first and second readings with 35 votes in favor, one against and eleven abstentions - mostly from the government. After approval of the bill in its first reading, State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Mohammed Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah said the government needs to conduct a feasibility study on the proposal before voting on it in the second reading.
However, most of the MPs insisted on approval of the bill in the first and second readings due to rising prices of livestock; hence, the need to establish the second company to pave way for competition and lower prices. During discussion on the bill, MP Abdulhameed Dashti urged the government to approve the proposal to regulate the prices of meat and livestock. He explained the impact of this step on the prices of meat and livestock will be manifested once the company's board of directors is formed. MP Mohammed Al-Jabri pointed out this is one of the best proposals because the existing livestock company has been monopolizing the market for some time now and it receives government subsidy of KD5 per livestock. He said the company has been incurring losses while a private company that imports livestock is making profits.
MP Khalil Al-Saleh asserted Islam forbids monopoly yet the government keeps on rejecting the proposal even if the price of meat continues to soar and this has negatively affected the citizens. He added, "If we believe we are a State of institutions, then we must support the citizens". Meanwhile, the Parliament approved in its second reading the report of the Interior and Defense Committee on the proposed amendment of the Police Force Law to allow the police officers to cash their unused leaves.
The legislature also approved in its second reading the bill to amend the Public Institution for Social Security Law. The revised bill states that an employee, who has been forced to retire and then reinstated through a court ruling, will receive salary for the days he did not report for work due to the force retirement.
Parliament Speaker Marzouq Al- Ghanim adjourned the session until Wednesday for deliberations on the draft bills regarding Jaber University and installation of surveillance cameras.
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