KUWAIT CITY - The emir of Kuwait Monday urged MPs and the government to cooperate in fighting corruption as he opened the new term of parliament where the opposition has gained control following June elections. ‘I urge the two authorities, legislative and executive, to put into reality the desires of cooperation ... and to agree on national priorities,’ Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah told the assembly.‘We must reinforce among everyone the principle of respect for the law ... With such a commitment we can battle corruption,’ he said.
| Sounds like a worried man. |
The emir also called for ‘appropriate’ use of the Gulf state’s huge financial resources for the benefit of the people, especially in developing public services and infrastructure. Kuwait, which sits on about 10 percent of global oil reserves, has accumulated huge financial assets of more than 166 billion dollars, mainly due to high oil prices. It has posted a budget surplus of around 54 billion dollars in the past seven fiscal years, and is forecast to post a 20-billion-dollar surplus in the current fiscal year ending next March. Kuwait has a native population of just one million people, but also has two million
Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al Ahmad Al Sabah said his government wants to build a ‘relationship based on mutual trust’ with parliament in order to resolve repeated political crises between the two bodies.
The previous parliament was dissolved in May one year ahead of time as a result of a crisis between MPs and the government on draft legislation calling to slash the number of electoral constituencies. Following the impressive triumph of the opposition, parliament in July passed a law to reduce the constituencies from 25 to five, which was a key opposition demand in the general elections.
| Part of the "Contract with Kuwait", as I recall. |
| And they'll have change left over. |
They include legislation that provides protection to prevent the sale of public property at low prices and another requiring senior government officials and MPs to disclose their wealth before and after assuming their posts.
The new term is expected to witness some wrangling, as several opposition MPs said they have decided to quiz Information Minister Mohammad Al Sanoussi. Outspoken lawmaker Mussallam Al Barrak told reporters after the session that the three opposition blocs plan to grill the minister within two months over alleged large-scale violations but declined to specify the nature of the alleged abuses. BarrakÂ’s announcement was confirmed by liberal and Islamist MPs.
The opposition blocs control more than the 25 votes needed to oust a minister.