SAFAR 6, 1439 AH THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2017 Max 38º 32 Pages 150 Fils Established 1961 Min 20º ISSUE NO: 17365 The First Daily in the Arabian Gulf www.kuwaittimes.net India defends ties with North Xi grip on China tightens with Saudi wealth fund aims Swiss prosecutors grill PSG’s 69Korea in talks with Tillerson new term and no heir in sight 17 to double size by 2020 15 Khelaifi in World Cup probe Govt heading to resign, will skip next Assembly session Speaker meets Amir, says parliament will not be dissolved By B Izzak marathon grilling on the Assembly’s open- ing day on Tuesday. Grilling of interests KUWAIT: It looks almost certain that the Around 22 lawmakers have publicly government will submit its resignation said they will support the motion, just before its weekly meeting on Monday to three short of the 25 votes required to pave the way for forming a new govern- oust Sheikh Mohammad, a senior member From the editor’s desk ment, parliamentary and government of the ruling family, from his post. The sources said yesterday. National developments came as more MPs said Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem they will file to grill more ministers. MPs told reporters after meeting HH the Amir Faisal Al-Kandari and Omar Al-Tabtabaei yesterday that the government will not said they will file to grill Oil Minister By Abd Al-Rahman Al-Alyan attend the next Assembly session sched- Essam Al-Marzouq today over alleged [email protected] uled for next Tuesday “whether through violations, while a number of other MPs resignation or any other measure”. said they will file to grill Minister of Social he National Assembly started its new term But the speaker squashed reports Affairs and Labor Hind Al-Sabeeh. MP speculating that the Assembly will be dis- Waleed Al-Tabtabaei also threatened to KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem meets HH the Amir with the same old tune. Immediately after solved, saying that he believes this will not grill Defense Minister Sheikh Mohammad Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah yesterday. — KUNA HH the Amir concluded the opening cere- T happen. The fast-paced developments Al-Khaled Al-Sabah. mony with his words of wisdom, several members yesterday came as more lawmakers HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al- its formation following the parliamentary Al-Sabah to step down as the first victim of parliament started sharpening their knives declared their support for a no-confi- Mubarak Al-Sabah is highly expected to election in November last year in which of the post-election Cabinet. It was not while eyeing State Minister for Cabinet Affairs dence motion filed against Minister of be renamed to form the new Cabinet after the opposition made a strong showing. immediately known whether the ministers and acting Information Minister Sheikh State for Cabinet Affairs and acting the Amir officially accepts the government Earlier this year, a grilling forced for- who were grilled or threatened of grilling Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah. These law- Information Minister Sheikh Mohammad resignation. If the government resigns, it mer information minister and state minis- will be retained in the new Cabinet. makers accused the minister of several violations Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah following a will be doing so barely after one year of ter for sports and youth Sheikh Salman Continued on Page 11 in both ministries and filed a no-confidence motion against him. The minister was also accused of favoring expatriates over Kuwaitis when appointing staff at several state depart- ments, and his financial integrity was questioned. Vigil held against It is the constitutional right of MPs to ques- tion the performance of any Cabinet minister. park ‘land grab’ However, the intention behind such motions should have the betterment of the country at By Athoob Al-Shuaibi heart and not a personal agenda against the government. I say the same old tune because it KUWAIT: Residents of Rawda, MPs and several envi- has become evident that many grilling motions ronment activists gathered peacefully at Jamal Abdul in the recent political history of Kuwait are driv- Nasser Public Garden for a candlelight vigil yesterday en by personal agendas - as pressure or to seek evening against the destruction of roughly 1,500 sq m of revenge for anything other than the benefit of the park for the construction of a Quran House and a the country. bank branch. On this occasion one MP supported the MP Mohammad Al-Dallal blamed the “negative grilling and had the audacity to blatantly admit direction” of the Public Authority for Agricultural he’s doing it to take a hit at the government for Affairs and Fish Resources and Awqaf and Municipality not reinstating the nationalities of those who lost Minister Mohammed Al-Jabri. “This is legally and eco- their citizenships in a recent disputed nationality logically incorrect. Plus, it didn’t gain popular accept- scandal. If this is the reason, then file a different ance by the people of Rawda. We will use our legisla- tive tools if we have to do so, unless the problem is KUWAIT: A candlelight vigil is held at Jamal Abdul Nasser Public Garden in motion altogether against the concerned min- resolved. In addition, we will try to enact legislation Rawda yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat istries on this issue and not just support any alle- that will fill legal gaps to ensure that this does not hap- gation over peer pressure. pen again in the future,” he vowed. the decision to prevent encroachment on public parks of which only four were approved - refurbishment of the As for the question of favoring expats - I’m MP Ahmad Al-Fadhl recalled he had previously sub- is valid and promised that violators will be held respon- lighting, a sunshade over the playground, new outdoor sorry: Since when did appointing expats become mitted a petition along with MP Yousef Al-Fadhalah sible for this, whether from the agriculture authority or games and rehabilitation of pedestrian paths for disabled a crime? This recent wave of anti-expat senti- saying that no green area can be cleared without the municipality,” he said. The issue goes back to 2010 people who frequent the park and mothers with strollers. ment is deeply disturbing and is being used as a approval from the Environmental Public Authority. “I when a group of residents asked the PAAAFR for the But development works were not initiated until 2015. scapegoat for the shortcomings of lawmakers to spoke to Minister Al-Jabri recently and he affirmed that development of the park. A list of 25 items was created, Continued on Page 3 deal with the serious problems facing Kuwait - like visa traders with their paper companies that have a ridiculous amount of work permits, the traffic issues caused by flawed road planning and Qatar to introduce extremely rude drivers that add to the misery of the road conditions and many more issues, but Top court rejects that is a story by itself. minimum wage as When it comes to the people the minister hired, I am sure he had a number of candidates - part of labor reforms lawsuit to cancel both expats and Kuwaitis - then picked from both groups those who deserved the job based on DOHA: World Cup 2022 host Qatar has agreed to a new health fees merit. I am sure the accusing MPs have also hired range of labor reforms including the introduction of a KUWAIT: The administrative department at the workers in their own private companies for the minimum wage. Other proposed changes include job supreme court rejected a lawsuit filed by a lawyer contracts being lodged with the government so they very same reason. against the health ministry to overturn its decision to I can safely say the parliament should concen- cannot be changed on arrival in Qatar, and employers no increase healthcare fees for expatriates. The Fatwa and trate on projects that increase Kuwaiti manpower longer being able to stop staff from leaving the country. DOHA: This file photo taken on May 4, 2015 shows Legislation Department pleaded on behalf of the health rather than prosecuting expats for working in Separately, state media announced the gas-rich emirate foreign laborers walking back to their accommoda- ministry and demanded to dismiss the case, submitting a Kuwait. Trust me - as a business owner, I can has signed bilateral accords with 36 countries from tion in the Al-Wakrah suburb. —AFP defense memorandum behind the ministry’s decision. safely say I prefer to hire local. But more often which it draws most of its two-million-strong foreign The case was first heard by the court in August, and than not, we struggle to keep qualified Kuwaiti workforce, to provide legal protection for workers. reforms were announced on the eve of an International decided on Oct 4 to defer the verdict until yesterday. staff for any length of time and to meet their The wide-ranging reforms have apparently been Labor Organization (ILO) meeting that could see the The health ministry has issued a decision to increase salary expectations. agreed between the Qatari government and various launch of a formal investigation by the UN agency into fees on expatriates due to increase in costs for providing Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers. Sheikh Mohammad Al-Abdullah Al-Sabah organizations, including one of its fiercest critics, the healthcare services such as surgeries, medical equip- Continued on Page 11 comes from a highly-respected branch of the roy- International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). The ment, laboratories and medical supplies. The decision al family and the accusations towards his financial came into force on Oct 1 with the exception of emer- gency and critical cases.