Small scale’ industrialists deprived of their rights: MP; Khorafi rejects panel’s time-frame request

Small scale’ industrialists deprived of their rights: MP; Khorafi rejects panel’s time-frame request
Arab Times

KUWAIT CITY: “We need to plug all loopholes and shortcomings by officials at the Public Authority of In-dustry (PAI), which allow ‘powerful’ individuals to deprive small industrial investors of their rights,” says Rapporteur of the Administrative Corrup-tion Investigative Panel MP Musallam Al-Barrak. The members of the Administrative Corruption Investigative Panel recently decided to submit in writing detailed questions to the PAI on its role and the services it provides to citizens. The panel also requested written response from the PAI on the services provided to some citizens and the rules and regulations governing these services.

“We have received complaints stating some officials at the authority have deprived the citizens of their rights and we intend to bring a halt to corruption in the authority,” declared Al-Barrak. The names of the individuals who have defamed the image of the authority will be revealed, he added. Meanwhile, Speaker of Parliament Jassem Al-Khorafi recently rejected a request from the Economic and Finance Committee for assigning a time-frame in which to nominate a new chairman for the committee, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting sources.

The committee MPs reacted by submitting two memorandums – one to the Speaker and the other to Rapporteur Abdulwahid Al-Awadhi stressing the importance of determining “a time table for voting in a new chairman especially since former chairman of the committee Dr Yousef Al-Zalzalah has been nominated as Minister of Commerce and Industry in the new government.”

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In the meantime, MP Awad Barad recently submitted a draft law which states “the sons of a Kuwaiti lady who is married to a non-Kuwaiti or to a non-nationality person should be treated as citizens when they are appointed in any government establishment,” reports Al-Seyassah daily. “The sons of all Kuwaiti women who were born in this country and are living in it are not less loyal than the citizens,” declared Barad. I have great trust in their Kuwaiti mothers who will have raised them to love Kuwait, he added. In another development, MP Ali Al-Hajri recently proposed some amendments to the law supporting the national manpower, reports Al-Anba daily.

These amendments, which are aimed at encouraging this sector of citizens to work in non-government organizations, state “the government will pay a child allowance of KD 70 for citizens who are working in the handicraft sector and for citizens employed in the private and the government sectors.” In his proposed amendment, Al-Hajri further stated “the government must also issue procedures to organize this.” These procedures include the government paying a child allowance and a social allowance to the employees and citizens working in handicrafts. The child allowance must be KD 70, he reiterates. “The State’s general budget must bear the onus of the financial requirements on account of this amendment,” concludes Al-Hajri.

By Ben Arfaj Al-Mutairi – Special to the Arab Times