Page 14 Pages 15 & 16 golf THE FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY IN FREE KUWAIT Established in 1977 / www.arabtimesonline.com basketball TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2021 / SHABAAN 3, 1442 AH emergency number 112 NO. 17638 16 PAGES 150 FILS MP initiates follow-the-money queries on PIFSS 28 back Al-Dahoum Opinion By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh CORONA cases dip Arab Times Staff KUWAIT CITY, March 15: MP Hassan Jawhar forwarded queries to Minister of Become ‘wolves’ Ten percent vaccinated Finance and Minister of State for Eco- nomic and Investment Affairs Khalifa Hamada about the names of funds, port- to deter the foxes By Marwa Al-Bahrawi folios, investment companies and banks Al-Seyassah Staff and Agencies where the Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) invested for fiscals By Ahmed Al-Jarallah 2015/2016, 2016/2017, 2017/2018, Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times KUWAIT CITY, March 15, (Agencies): Kuwait reported 1,063 coronavirus cases and 2018/ 2019, 2019/2020 and 2020/ 2021. seven deaths, raising the total number of cases to 209,523 and fatalities to 1,172 on Sun- He wants to know the participation THERE is an Arab adage – If you are not a mischievous wolf, the foxes day. amount, opening balance, contribution will walk all over you. In a statement to KUNA, the Ministry of Health’s official spokesperson Dr Abdullah Al-Sanad said there are and redemption of PIFSS in each of the The decision makers in Kuwait are required to reflect on this saying, abovementioned investment entities; as especially these days, with chaos reigning due to slackness of the ex- 209 patients in ICUs, adding that 14,179 patients are still receiving medical care. The number of swabs reached 6,173 in the past 24 hours with infection rate of 17.2 percent, raising the total num- well as the realized and unrealized gain/ ecutive authority and the lack of a firm decision to prevent the tamper- loss. ing with the security of Kuwait. ber of swabs to 1,907,214, he He asked why Kuwait Credit Bank Given that the ruling depends on decisions, an initiative must be noted. (KCB), Kuwait National Petroleum taken to stop the country’s depletion at all levels. Therefore, the Con- Earlier today, the ministry Corporation (KNPC), Public Authority stitutional Court’s ruling, which was issued yesterday to nullify the announced that 1,390 people parliamentary status of Dr Bader Al-Dahoum, is an indication that the for Industry (PAI), Kuwait Ports Au- recovered from the virus, rais- thority (KPA), Kuwait Fund for Arab balance of justice through the Kuwaiti judiciary’s measures is the only ing the total number of recover- source of strength that remains for us. Economic Development (KFAED) and ies to 209,523. While the num- Central Bank of Kuwait (CBK) did not This should be the standard with which other authorities work, espe- ber of people who have taken cially the executive authority so that it does not remain captive to the hand over the profits they got to the the injection for the prevention Ministry of Finance. He wants to know chaos caused by the MPs who revealed their true colors from the mo- of COVID-19 in Kuwait in- ment they won, and did not hide their work which is based on a special the amount of these profits. agenda that has nothing to do with the national agenda. creased to 408,000 people, at a Jawhar also asked Minister of Health Unfortunately, those who are known for their orientations and per- rate of 10% of the population, Dr Basel Al-Sabah about the safety con- sonal interests were met by a semi-submissive government that was Al-Sabah Specialized Medical ditions for food items imported from persistent in not responding. This made it seem powerless in the eyes District has begun to take an Egypt. He requested for copies of the of Kuwaitis. Its impotence is the reason for the spread of liquidity in all inventory and prepare lists of documents showing the imported food institutions and the disruption of the country to such an extent that the the names of patients who are items from Egypt are safe for human economic crisis has become a great threat. hospitalized at centers affiliated consumption. It unfortunately also seems as though the government is oblivious to the hospital for long periods In another development, a total of 28 to this reality. Instead of setting a clear and quick plan to remedy the to prepare them for the orona MPs signed a statement to express sup- imbalance, the Minister of Finance comes out to say, “We need $90 vaccine. port for MP Badr Al-Dahoum after the per a barrel of oil to make Kuwait’s budget deficit zero”. This does not The Al-Seyassah daily has Constitutional Court nullified his parlia- bode well at all. learned from well-informed mentary membership. Since the last 40 years, everyone has been warning Kuwait about health sources that the head These MPs pointed out that Kuwait the harm of total dependence on oil, and that the failure to diversify of the Public Health Services is known for its deep-rooted democracy sources of income would lead to major structural crises. However, the Department in the Al-Sabah which recently witnessed backwardness successive governments turned a deaf ear to these calls, and the most Specialized Medical District, they could do in response was an expression of concern, as if this fate- in all fields because of widespread cor- Dr Samira Al-Qabandi, in an ruption and lack of justice. ful matter did not directly concern them. address to the Director of Al- All this led to the current situation, which forces us to acknowledge Criticized the truth despite its bitterness. In fact, the government is not alone to be Sabah Medical District, Dr blamed, but the political system as a whole, which has great constitu- Ahmed Al-Shatti and the di- They criticized the verdict of the tional powers. As we have said several times, it begins with dissolving rectors of hospitals and spe- Constitutional Court; asserting it is il- the parliament and reaches the approval of the decrees of necessity, cialized centers has called for logical, has no legal basis and beyond especially in light of the existence of a parliament that rejects all the making a list of all patients the authority given to the court, consid- solutions offered because the MPs are focused only on what is impor- who have been hospitalized ering the Court of Cassation had earlier tant to them. for long periods of time to re- ruled on the appeal and this is supposed For example, diversifying sources of income is still a distant dream ceive one of the two vaccines to be the final decision. due to the absence of a plan for the revival of industrial and tourism against the corona pandemic The MPs disclosed the Constitutional sectors, and the failure to implement the Silk City and the Northern either Pfizer Biontec or Astra- Court’s decision is a new priority in Economic Zone projects, and many other projects that form a basic Zeneca ‘Oxford’. addition to general amnesty, enhanc- platform for a productive and diversified economy that accommodates However, Al-Qabandi said ing freedom of expression and amend- tens of thousands of national manpower. for the immunization of pa- ing the law on disqualifying candidates This parliament, as well as its predecessor, has not offered any Egyptian workers assemble concrete forms at a building site as a giant Saudi tients the approval of the at- who are convicted of offending others solutions. It refuses to borrow from overseas or withdraw from the tending physician is needed which is considered a form of political future generations fund. At the same time, it works on fulfilling the flag hangs in the background at King Abdullah Square in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, March 14. An Islamic creed on the flag reads, ‘There is no deity except God, and to know if the patient’s health execution. absurd demands of the MPs, and conceals all of this with the slogan Muhammad is the messenger of God.’ (AP) status allows him/her to be vac- They stressed the need to amend the of democracy. It claims that the people are the source of authority, law on establishing the Constitutional but the balance of power for 400 years has been much more in the cinated, and to write a medical report on each case separately. Court so the other MPs will not to be people than the slogans of the MPs. It is the rule that achieved the targeted as it happened with Al-Da- accurate democracy. Tourist charged with spying Approval houm. This fact must be well understood by the decision makers. They must be firm with their decisions to settle the matter, because the ab- This is in addition to the pa- In conclusion, they called on the peo- sence of a decision has put the government in the MPs’ line of fire. It tient’s family giving approval ple of Kuwait to intensify monitoring of hardly attains a vote of confidence and resorts to resignation whenever for vaccination. the performance of the three authorities an MP expresses his intention to interpellate. Tehran urges quick Meanwhile, a recent scientif- – executive, legislative and judicial. Nonetheless, all this hasn’t been achieved because of the govern- ic study published in the Brit- A number of MPs also announced ment’s argument that “the parliament rejects these projects”. This is ish medical journal ‘Biomed’, that they will not attend the session slat- tantamount to what was mentioned at the beginning of this article, ophthalmologist consultant ed for the oath taking of the new gov- which is – “If you are not a mischievous wolf, the foxes will walk all at the Ministry of Health, Dr ernment.