KUWAIT: While Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali faces a tough task in fending off all allegations addressed by his two grilling motions, the alleged violations by the Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) could be the turning point upon which the debate results will be assessed. Several Opposition lawmakers spoke about this topic being 'a bleeding wound', especially following reports hinting that the Swiss bank accounts of Fahad Al-Rajaan, PIFSS General Director, have been frozen. "We have some observations on the PIFSS performance, and their mechanisms for investing the pensions of retired citizens," MP Dr. Faisal Al-Mislem said on behalf of the Majority Bloc. "We cannot pass judgment until the grillings' debate".
The PIFSS violations are one of eight main topics addressed by a grilling motion filed by MPs Musallam Al-Barrak, Khalid Al-Tahous and Abdurrahman Al-Anjari. It remains unclear whether it will be mentioned during the debate of the interpellation filed by MP Dr. Obaid Al-Wasmi, and consists of three articles.
"Reports about PIFSS investing pensions in companies suffering from financial troubles live up to be considered a crime of (squandering) public funds," said MP Adel Al-Damkhi. He said he holds Al-Rajaan "fully responsible for this waste", and the Finance Minister bears the "responsibility for failing to launch a probe into the case."
Al-Damkhi mentioned the reports about the freezing of Al-Rajaan's foreign bank accounts, demanding that Minister Al-Shamali release a public statement "in order to deny or confirm the reports". MP Riyadh Al-Adsani said the general assembly meetings held in the PIFSS since 2008 "never featured discussions of unsafe investments" carried out by the institution, adding at the same time that the institution "failed to exit from loss-making companies since the beginning of the global economic crisis." MP Saifi Al-Saifi said that including the PIFSS file in Al-Shamali's grilling is essential for two reasons.
"The debate should feature discussion of errors in implementing the retirement law, as well as suspicions of financial violations in the institution's investments", he said. MP Dr. Mohammad Al-Hatlani agreed that the discussion "is an opportunity to reveal the mystery behind the investments in question". MP Ahmad Lari, who is associated with the Parliament monitoring group, said "any observations about the PIFSS performance needs to be supported by proof", urging public facilities to work openly "for the common good".
Al-Shamali is widely expected to be voted out of office following the debate of his two grilling motions next week, as only 25 MPs are required to vote 'no confidence' to pass a vote of no confidence. Both interpellations are supported by the 35-member Majority Bloc. Reports published yesterday quoted "senior Cabinet officials," who said that Al-Shamali plans to face the debate "in order to respond to allegations and reveal the truth to citizens" before he resigns voluntarily.
© Kuwait Times 2012
