11 October 2011
KUWAIT: Rising political instability in the country should not be used as an excuse to forget the environment and human health, MP Musallam Al-Barrak remarked yesterday. "Those who tried to dissuade me from attending this conference reasoned that the Green Line has its own agenda." He hoped that more cooperation can be forged with the Green Line Environment Group - Kuwait (GLEG) on different environmental issues. Al-Barrak was speaking during a press conference held in Salmiya yesterday.
He has appointed MP Dr Hasan Jawhar as the coordinator of a partnership formed between the Green Line and a group of MPs that also includes Ahmad Al-Saadoun. Installing CCTV cameras at the headquarters of the Environment Public Authority (EPA) has stirred a controversy. "Installing CCTV cameras in the smoke detector at EPA's headquarter without the knowledge of the employees is in bad taste and exposes maladministration in EPA. It is a violation of employees' right and infringement on their personal freed om," said MP Al-Barrak.
The lawmaker demanded that this situation be corrected, "Any firm can install cameras after informing employees about it. This reminds me of a grilling motion initiated against the Minister of Interior for installing cameras at the Iradah Square outside the Parliament without informing citizens. We don't accept such behavior and acts," he noted.
According to Al-Barrak, EPA does not execute court verdicts and illustrated with the example of Jasim Al-Shawaf. "Al-Shawaf was terminated from his work place for inane reasons, and the court restored his right to work by issuing a verdict. The EPA did not comply with the verdict. Employee Khawla Al-Obaidan also met with a similar fate," he pointed out.
More conferences will be held in the future on different environmental issues especially the Umm Al-Haiman pollution issue and the Mishref sewage treatment plant, "These issues will be discussed in detail to highlight the improvement in this cases. We hope that the media will highlight these issues to give a clear view about the danger of the environmental situation," Al-Barrak concluded.
MP Hasan Jawhar commented on the CCTV cameras issue, "I have listened to the complaints and to EPA. I found the explanation given by EPA unsatisfactory. Installing cameras in the smoke detector without informing employees is not acceptable. They should have installed it in a suitable place and inform the employees. A similar issue took place a few years ago. The cameras were removed soon," he stressed.
The most important environmental issue affecting health in Kuwait is sea pollution. In 1985, Kuwait submitted a study to the United Nations on Kuwait food security, which is enough to sustain the country for six months in the case of emergency. Today the sea is polluted and has created fear in people," he added.
Khalid Al-Hajiri, Chairman of GLEG stated that it is important to execute court decisions and verdicts, "Also, I think there are many important environmental issues that should be discussed such as Um Al-Haiman and Mishref station. We hope all the environmental activists can corral support from MPs," he noted.
KUWAIT: Rising political instability in the country should not be used as an excuse to forget the environment and human health, MP Musallam Al-Barrak remarked yesterday. "Those who tried to dissuade me from attending this conference reasoned that the Green Line has its own agenda." He hoped that more cooperation can be forged with the Green Line Environment Group - Kuwait (GLEG) on different environmental issues. Al-Barrak was speaking during a press conference held in Salmiya yesterday.
He has appointed MP Dr Hasan Jawhar as the coordinator of a partnership formed between the Green Line and a group of MPs that also includes Ahmad Al-Saadoun. Installing CCTV cameras at the headquarters of the Environment Public Authority (EPA) has stirred a controversy. "Installing CCTV cameras in the smoke detector at EPA's headquarter without the knowledge of the employees is in bad taste and exposes maladministration in EPA. It is a violation of employees' right and infringement on their personal freed om," said MP Al-Barrak.
The lawmaker demanded that this situation be corrected, "Any firm can install cameras after informing employees about it. This reminds me of a grilling motion initiated against the Minister of Interior for installing cameras at the Iradah Square outside the Parliament without informing citizens. We don't accept such behavior and acts," he noted.
According to Al-Barrak, EPA does not execute court verdicts and illustrated with the example of Jasim Al-Shawaf. "Al-Shawaf was terminated from his work place for inane reasons, and the court restored his right to work by issuing a verdict. The EPA did not comply with the verdict. Employee Khawla Al-Obaidan also met with a similar fate," he pointed out.
More conferences will be held in the future on different environmental issues especially the Umm Al-Haiman pollution issue and the Mishref sewage treatment plant, "These issues will be discussed in detail to highlight the improvement in this cases. We hope that the media will highlight these issues to give a clear view about the danger of the environmental situation," Al-Barrak concluded.
MP Hasan Jawhar commented on the CCTV cameras issue, "I have listened to the complaints and to EPA. I found the explanation given by EPA unsatisfactory. Installing cameras in the smoke detector without informing employees is not acceptable. They should have installed it in a suitable place and inform the employees. A similar issue took place a few years ago. The cameras were removed soon," he stressed.
The most important environmental issue affecting health in Kuwait is sea pollution. In 1985, Kuwait submitted a study to the United Nations on Kuwait food security, which is enough to sustain the country for six months in the case of emergency. Today the sea is polluted and has created fear in people," he added.
Khalid Al-Hajiri, Chairman of GLEG stated that it is important to execute court decisions and verdicts, "Also, I think there are many important environmental issues that should be discussed such as Um Al-Haiman and Mishref station. We hope all the environmental activists can corral support from MPs," he noted.
© Kuwait Times 2011
