Kuwaiti minister survives 'grilling'

Parliament has unanimously asked the State Audit Bureau (SAB) to investigate allegations made by two MPs that the Minister of State for Cabinet and Parliamentary Affairs has squandered over 100 million Kuwaiti dinars (around Dh1,239 million) of state funds. The bureau has three months to submit its findings to the National Assembly.

MPs Ahmad Al Mulaifi and Ali Al Rashid accused Mohammad Daifullah Al Sharar in a marathon eight-hour parliamentary session yesterday on his failure to answer questions on alleged corruption, the abuse of public property and the squandering of public funds.

The minister refuted every charge but in essence simply tried to avoid collision with members of parliament. He denied all responsibility and went on to say, "I prevented further loss of public money …. The alleged loss of 100 million Kuwaiti dinars was before my time. I acknowledge that some mistakes were made and appropriate action against perpetrators has been taken."

Lawmakers were all present with questions and purportedly the 10 signatures required to file for a motion of no confidence, but quiet last minute lobbying by various ministers apparently convinced them not to go ahead.

Al Mulaifi said the "grilling" of Al Sharar aimed to develop the nation and not to create disputes. "The questions raised must be answered because they involve the issue of tampering with public funds. The reports of Transparency International and that of the Citizen's Services Apparatus mention the issue of corruption in Kuwait; it is hurtful for us as citizens because there are still many honourable people," Al Mulaifi said.

"We do not accept that corruption becomes a reality …. We will fight it, no matter what the price or how many sacrifices we have to make … ," he added.

The chief of the parliamentary anti-corruption committee, MP Nasser Al Sane, demanded that the government present anti-corruption legislation and allow the formation of a non-government anti-corruption watchdog. The former speaker of the House Ahmad Al Saadoun said, "The total infringement on state property has reached 141 million square metres. Just one individual has illegally appropriated 4.2 million square metres."

Al Rashid who submitted the grilling motion against Al Sharar said the public questioning was not to seek political gain but to do justice. "The problem is with the minister," he said, "not providing the answers to the questions is an official confession on his [Al Sharar's] part that the information he received regarding corruption is true."

Al Mulaifi also raised the report of a government fact -finding committee to investigate municipal activities that are under the authority of the minister.