We want a new government: MP

KUWAIT CITY, March 31: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah accepted the Kuwaiti government's resignation Thursday.

The Amir, in a decree, instructed the government to act as a care-taker until the formation of a new cabinet.

Earlier, Kuwait's government officially submitted its resignation to His Highness the Amir, in light of scheduled questionings of state ministers, one of which was expected to take place next week. The resignation has automatically dropped the grilling debates off the National Assembly's agenda.

His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said he highly appreciated the assignment to form the government, describing it a "heavy responsibility ... ." Sheikh Nasser said "we promised ourselves that we would be worthy of this confidence and to exert efforts to honor its consequences before Allah then Your Highness and the people of Kuwait." Sheikh Nasser complained that his task was confronted by obstacles which aimed at creating conflicts "distant from nature of our society, its cohesion and unity of its social fabric, and harming our national unity amidst domestic developments threatening our national security." It is for those reasons, said Sheikh Nasser, the government decided to resign.

After a special cabinet meeting, Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) quoted Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, Roudhan Al-Roudhan, confirming the resignation. "The cabinet has decided to tender resignation to His Highness the Amir so that he, thanks to his well-known wisdom, can do whatever he sees suitable to the public interest and the coming stage," he said.

Al-Roudhan added that the decision came following the recent local developments and their relevant negative aftershocks on the country's national unity, security and stability.

Civil unrest has been sweeping across the country and several protests calling for the government's resignation have taken place with the support of the three most active parliamentary political blocs. The conflict in the Kingdom of Bahrain between the Sunni Monarchy and Shiite opposition protesters has also triggered sectarian tensions in Kuwait.

The government's resignation is the sixth since His Highness the Prime Minister, Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah, was appointed to his post in 2006, the last of which was in November 2009.
His Highness the Amir has continuously reinstated the PM, however disputes between the legislative and executive authorities continued to mount, especially in regards to the more than KD 30 billion state development plan and alleged corruption and violations within various ministries.

Lawmakers targeted the prime minister with grilling requests and he survived two non-cooperation motions. Recently, the Popular Action Bloc (PAB) wished to question the PM on the misappropriation of public funds and on the legality of the Zain Telecommunications deal.

Members of parliament welcomed the decision and said that it was overdue. They were divided in opinion, however, on the probability that His Highness the Amir will reappoint Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah as PM. A number of opposition MPs disapproved of the predicted reappointment while others said that they will respect the decision of His Highness the Amir in that regard.

Furthermore, MPs threatened to pursue the questionings of controversial state ministers if they are reinstated to their posts.

Speaker of Parliament, Jassem Al-Khorafi, said that he was officially informed of the government's resignation; therefore the pending grilling debates have automatically been dropped. He requested the MPs who disapprove of the PM to not interfere in the jurisdiction of His Highness the Amir as it is his constitutional right to chose who heads the Kuwaiti government.

Grilling requests were officially submitted against three ministers, who are members of the ruling family. The National Action Bloc (NAB) wished to question Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Housing and Development, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Sabah. His grilling debate was scheduled for April 5.

Meanwhile, Shiite MP Saleh Ashour wished to question the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohammed Al-Sabah, on Bahraini TV's alleged insults of Kuwait, its people and institutions.
Moreover, Shiite MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan wanted to grill the Minister of Information and Oil, Sheikh Ahmed Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah, for allowing Kuwait media to fuel sectarian tension in the country.

MP Marzook Al-Ghanim said Al-Fahad has escaped answering the accusations directed against him, which the NAB has always predicted. Al-Fahad was accused of misappropriation of funds and violation of housing laws and laws related to the four-year state development plan.

Shiite MP Hassan Jowhar said that he expects further tension and collision between the legislative and executive authorities if Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah was reappointed as prime minister, but said that he respects His Highness the Amir's decision.

Jowhar added that there are also many ministers who were a burden on the government and should be removed. On his part, MP Adnan Al-Mutawa called for a new government that is headed by the Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah.

Meanwhile, opposition MPs Musllam Al-Barrak and Faisal Al-Muslim said that the questioning of Sheikh Nasser Al-Sabah will still be on the PAB's agenda if he is reinstated as prime minister.

MP Saifi Al-Saifi, who sought to question the Minister of Health along with MP Yousef Al-Zalzalah, said that the disputes that are occurring are due to differences between members of the Royal Family. He stated that if the Minister of Health, Dr. Hilal Al-Sayer, was reappointed he will resubmit the grilling against him. If not, Al-Saifi added, he will reveal the former minister's violations to the media and request a formal investigation.

Meanwhile, youth political groups Kafi (Enough) and Al-Sour Al-Khamis (the Fifth Fence) issued separate statements congratulating the Kuwaiti people on the resignation. Kafi proposed a number of procedures that the group believes will boost democracy in the country and defuse the political tension.

Their recommendations include re-evaluating the mechanisms of candidacy and elections, amending the Constituencies Law so that Kuwait becomes one constituency, as well as amending the Audio Visual Laws in order to allow an increase of freedom of opinion.

Agencies add:
Sheikh Sabah must first decide whether to accept the government's resignation, and then, if so, name Sheikh Nasser or another figure to form a new cabinet.

The cabinet's latest resignation also coincides with an opposition campaign for the resignation and replacement of the prime minister, a nephew of the ruling Amir, Sheikh Sabah.

Several opposition MPs on Thursday called on the Amir to appoint a new prime minister, accusing Sheikh Nasser, who is in his early 70s, of failing to lead Kuwait despite huge financial surpluses on the back of high oil prices.

"We want a new government with a new prime minister charting a new course ... If Sheikh Nasser is retained, all the problems will return and the crisis will be prolonged," said Faisal Al-Muslim, an Islamist.
Mussallam Al-Barrak, spokesman for the opposition Popular Action Bloc, vowed to file a motion to question Sheikh Nasser himself if he is named to form the next government.

"The right start is to have a new prime minister. Without this it will be useless to talk about reform," he told reporters.

"Sheikh Nasser has failed in every issue he has handled ... If the prime minister insists on remaining in his post, the situation in Kuwait will continue to deteriorate," he said.

Muslim said that governments led by Sheikh Nasser had over the past five years spent about $330 billion but without any major impact on development in Kuwait, which has 1.15 million nationals out of a 2.4-million population.

The news service of Al-Watan newspaper, owned by a member of the ruling family, said the foreign minister was set to face a question that could "provoke sectarianism".

"The government was ready to face any questioning except that of Saleh Ashour," it said, referring to a Shi'ite member of parliament. "The prime minister refused to have it discussed in order to prevent provoking sectarianism or insulting friendly countries."

Ashour wanted to discuss Bahrain. Ashour has said he was insulted in a discussion show on Bahraini state television for comments he made in support of Bahraini protesters.

Shafiq Ghabra, professor of political science at Kuwait University, said regional tensions as popular protests sweep the region had only heightened existing problems in Kuwait.

"What's clear is that the Kuwaiti government is not able to continue to function in its normal composition, and that a political crisis has been brewing even before the existing revolutions and uprisings in the region," he said.

Political analyst and former oil minister Ali Al-Baghli said the government had no choice but to resign "after it was faced by numerous questioning requests".

Asked if Sheikh Nasser, who survived a similar motion against him last year, would be reappointed, he said: "It's all up to the Amir, and we respect and trust his choice, whether it's going to be Sheikh Nasser or someone else."

© Arab Times 2011