Cairo: Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Shaikh Nasser Al Sabah said on Saturday that the main reason for the government’s resignation two days ago was its failure to answer repeated queries over financial irregularities at an army-run fund.
The government submitted its resignation to Kuwait’s Emir Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad on Thursday, tersely saying the aim was to allow “rearranging cabinet work”.
“This [reason] was not accurate,” Shaikh Nasser said in a statement on the army’s Twitter account. He added that repeated queries had been filed to the prime minister for explanations to the suspected irregularities estimated at around 240 million Kuwaiti dinars (Dh2.9 billion) before Shaikh Nasser took over in December 2017. “Several correspondences have been sent to His Highness the prime minister and the interior minister since July to know the full truth and justify the operations of enormous transfers conducted in suspected irregularities,” Shaikh Nasser added in the statement.
On receiving no answers “which would have dispelled the doubt”, Shaikh Nasser said he had notified the Emir of his decision to stop attending the cabinet meetings.
Shaikh Sabah, the Emir’s eldest son, on Thursday ordered the purported irregularities be referred to the country’s public prosecutor for investigations. On Saturday, Shaikh Nasser said his decision was aimed at protecting public money and allowing justice to prevail. “We have to accept this measure and be satisfied with judicial rulings,” he added.
“In a display of cooperation on our side, His Excellency the head of the National Assembly [parliament] has been acquainted with details of these transgressions and the measures we have taken in this regard,” Shaikh Nasser added without elaborating.
His move comes amid accusations about alleged corruption including wasting of public money in Kuwait.
Earlier this month, hundreds of Kuwaitis protested outside the parliament against the outgoing government and alleged corruption.
