(MENAFN- Arab Times) The parliamentary Women and Family Affairs Committee discussed various issues concerning women and plans of Kuwait to empower women in different fields and improve their position in society with Deputy Resident Representative of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to the State of Kuwait Dima Al-Khatib and her accompanying delegation, says Committee Chairman MP Saleh Ashour. In a statement to the press after the meeting on Sunday, Ashour disclosed they looked into the social development file, new global agenda of the United Nations Women Organization, and review of Kuwaiti women's rights compared to their counterparts in other Gulf countries.
He added they tackled a number of ideas on strengthening cooperation between the committee and global organizations and institutions through conferences and workshops. Also present at the meeting were member of the committee MP Abdullah Al-Mayouf, Program Expert at the United Nations Women Regional Office for Arab States Sara Bran, Strategic Planning and Coordination Expert in the same office Alicia Jimenez, and software analyst at UNDP-Kuwait Ali Al-Muntasir.
Meanwhile, the Youth and Sports Committee, in its capacity as commission of inquiry on the suspension of Kuwait from participation in international sports events, has started preparing invitations for sports unions, clubs and authorities to a meeting as a prelude for drafting its report on the suspension. Committee Chairman MP Abdullah Al Mayouf affirmed the investigation process will be thorough, precise and transparent. "We will deal with the issue in a clear and transparent manner. Anyone accused of causing the suspension or sending letters to incite international bodies and organizations to push for the suspension should attend the committee meeting to prove their innocence to the MPs and the people," he asserted.
Moreover, Chairman of the Finance and Economic Affairs Committee MP Faisal Al-Shaye has confirmed completion of their discussion on the Public Tenders Law, indicating the committee has asked other concerned authorities to comment on the government's proposed amendments to the law.
On the economic reform document that the government presented to the National Assembly, Al-Shaye clarified this is not a draft law, it is the government's vision on addressing public funds wastage and rectifying the budget. He pointed out it is improper to accuse the Assembly of giving the government mandate to privatize some State establishments, stressing the government has no right to modify any law unless approval is obtained from the Parliament. He said the Privatization Law ratified in 2010 includes stipulations on taxes and no sector will be privatized unless it is done through legal channels.
On another issue, MP Khalil Abdullah submitted a proposal on separating the rehabilitation center for drug addicts from the Psychiatric Hospital, so it becomes an independent body in order to better serve the public. He explained the Psychiatric Hospital deals with numerous psychiatric cases while the rehabilitation center has been idle. He enumerated the advantages of separating the rehabilitation center from the hospital as follows: reduce congestion at hospital during visiting hours, the center can focus more on the rehabilitation of drug addicts because it will have its own staff specialized in the field, decrease the average rehabilitation period from two years to six months, and ease the passage of laws to help the center achieve its objectives.
He added that since the center will have its own building, proper facilities and rooms will be established for more effective rehabilitation process. On the other hand, MP Hamdan Al-Azmi has proposed transforming the General Customs Department into an independent body like those in other GCC countries, especially since it has more than 4,800 employees assigned in 11 ports and other entry or exit points. He explained that through this step, the employees will receive the financial allocations they deserve whereas the department itself will be developed to be on par with international standards through the provision of the most advanced technology and quick processing of transactions. He said the employees are currently using outdated equipment, yet they maintain high success rate in detecting contrabands.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.