KUWAIT CITY, 22 November 2004 — Two liberal Kuwaiti lawmakers yesterday submitted a request to question the emirate’s deputy premier and minister for Cabinet affairs over alleged corruption and violating the constitution.
Ahmad Al-Mulaifi and Ali Al-Rashed claimed that the minister, Mohammad Daifallah Sharar, has either taken part in alleged corruption or remained silent on corruption in departments that fall under his authority.
These include Kuwait Municipality, the Public Authority for Agriculture and the Civil Service Commission.
The two MPs claimed that the minister took no action to stop “widespread corruption” in the departments and alleged that he even had a hand in it.
They claimed that corruption, wrongdoing and financial irregularities in the departments have cost the state millions of dollars.
They also said Sharar “has a long history of disrespecting the constitution” and accused him of taking part in an attempt to “liquidate democracy” in the emirate.
The request will be raised during today’s parliamentary session when a date will be set for the grilling, normally after two weeks.
The process could lead to a vote of no-confidence which, if passed, would mean the automatic dismissal of the minister.
Sharar, who has served as a Cabinet minister for the last decade, comfortably survived a no-confidence vote following a similar questioning in March last year.
Backed solidly by tribal and most Islamist MPs, he is not expected to be unseated this time round either.
Weekly Fined
Kuwait’s Al-Taleaa weekly was yesterday fined $255 for accusing the Gulf Cooperation Council chief Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah of financial and administrative irregularities, his lawyer said.
The criminal court convicted the liberal publication of libel for an article it published in March accusing Attiyah of committing irregularities at the Riyadh-based GCC general secretariat, Nawaf Sari said.
Under the 1961 press and publications law, courts issue fines ranging from $170 to $340 for libel and defamation cases.
Sari said he would press for compensation in the civil court if the verdict were upheld following an appeal.
