(MENAFN- Arab Times) A Shiite parliamentarian in Kuwait on Monday demanded to grill the foreign minister over Kuwait's participation in Saudiled air strikes against Yemen's Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies. "Kuwait's air force has taken part in the military operations without parliament being informed," Abdulhameed Dashti said. He said this was a breach of the constitution which bans launching an offensive war or the government declaring a defensive war without informing parliament. Dashti accused Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Sabah, a senior member of the ruling family, of responsiblity for the country's involvement in the Yemen conflict. Since March 26, a Saudi-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes against the Houthis and forces loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh after they overran large parts of the impoverished Arabian Peninsula country.
Dashti also accused the foreign minister of pushing for parliament to ratify a Gulf security pact which he said contains provisions that violate Kuwait's constitution. The motion to question the minister has been listed for parliament's May 19 session, acting speaker Adel Al- Khorafi said. There are just seven Shiite MPs in Kuwait's 50-seat parliament, where several MPs swiftly rejected Dashti's move. Independent Mansoor al-Dhafiri called it "sectarian" and Saadun Hammad dismissed it as "born dead".
Dashti is an outspoken critic of the Sunni-ruled Gulf state of Bahrain, for its alleged mistreatment of majority Shiites, and also of Saudi Arabia for sending troops to Manama. He currently faces two criminal investigations, instigated by the foreign ministry, for allegedly endangering diplomatic ties with both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Along with Kuwait, all are members of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) which also includes Oman, Qatar and United Arab Emirates. Oman is the only GCC member not taking part in the Saudi-led coalition waging the Yemen campaign.
The ministries of Interior, Social Affairs and Labor, as well as Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) and Cooperative Societies Union (CSU), have agreed on the establishment of a company for the recruitment of domestic workers in Kuwait, says member of the parliamentary Financial and Economic Affairs Committee MP Ahmed Larri.
In a press statement, Larri disclosed he expects amendment of the current bill to establish a closed company, instead of a stock company; in order to allow the distribution of shares to various institutions and citizens. He believes the revised version of the bill will truly serve its purpose, indicating the main objective is to provide better services for domestic workers and to curb the soaring recruitment cost.
He revealed an idea had earlier been presented to open branches of the proposed company in cooperative societies, affirming that KIA welcomes the concept of investing 10 percent of the company's capital since this comprises the shares of the government. He explained the other shares will be distributed to the existing domestic labor offices, asserting some of the company's shares must be offered for public subscription and some should be given to cooperative societies.
Commenting on the bill, MP Mansour Al-Thafiri said the Parliament feels the government will endorse the proposal to establish a national company for the recruitment of household workers. He asserted the establishment of a joint stock company, whose shares will be owned by a number of institutions and citizens, is the best way to eliminate violations in this field while easing procedures for both the workers and their employers. He reiterated the government's side seems to be gearing towards approval of the proposal; especially since some governmental bodies are already on board like the ministries of Interior, Health, Social Affairs and Labor.
Moreover, the Health and Social Affairs Committee on Monday discussed the original text of the Family Nursery Bill. Rapporteur of the Committee MP Sadoun Al-Hammaad affirmed they are keen on pushing for the approval of the bill, hoping it will be forwarded soon to the National Assembly for voting. Also, MP Mohammed Al-Anazi has asked Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr Bader Al-Essa to allow the children of Bedouns included in the 1965 Census to enroll in public schools. He underscored the importance of this step considering the high fees and low quality of academic outputs in private schools.
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