Why Kuwait’s political infighting is leaving its economic plans on ice
Political infighting between the parliament and government has forced the resignation of two cabinet ministers in less than a month and threatens to draw in more of their cabinet colleagues.
June 15, 2012 6:25 by Reuters
Mustapha al-Shamali resigned as finance minister last month after opposition lawmakers accused him of failing to deal with alleged financial irregularities in his departments.
Shamali, who had served as finance minister from 2007, denied the allegations of mismanagement but quit rather than face a parliamentary confidence vote. Kuwait’s minister for social affairs and labour, Ahmed al-Rujaib, resigned ahead of a questioning session scheduled for next week.
It was a similar fight between MPs and the cabinet which led to the dissolution of the chamber in December and a snap election that brought in the fourth parliament in six years.
DOW DEAL
Some MPs have said they want to question oil minister Hani Hussein in parliament after an arbitrator’s ruling last month that Kuwait’s state-run chemical company must pay Dow Chemical Co. $2.16 billion for wrongly cancelling a deal.
More on Analysis
-
Over 90% of passwords vulnerable to hacking
-
‘Renewable energy absolutely necessary’ – Saudi
-
Real cost of sending your child to a Dubai school
-
BurgerFuel rockets its way across Dubai
-
Middle East deadly virus – what do we call it?
-
BurgerFuel’s aggressive expansion plans
-
Qatar’s Leverage Over Banks Is On The Wane
-
First report by Etisalat covering global footprint
-
Qatar Should Consider More Flexible Exchange Rate – Central Banker
-
Yahoo on Tumblr: ‘we promise not to screw it up’
-
Arabtec workers: strike will continue
-
Kuwait: expats sent packing
-
Dubai Labourers on ‘rare’ labour protest
-
Tumblr officially off the market
-
A major step for Turkey
-
Dusting off the Emirates ID card
-
Turkish Airlines Can Ride Out Turbulence
-
Air Berlin doesn’t need Etihad’s help
-
Turkey’s IMF emancipation deserves cautious cheer
-
Nokia charging back with full force
Lately on Kipp
-
Dubai ruler makes horse doping illegal
-
CEO-elect of UAE’s fraud-hit RAKBANK has quit
-
Over 90% of passwords vulnerable to hacking
-
‘Renewable energy absolutely necessary’ – Saudi
-
NEC Display Solutions launches Full HD 3D ready compact meeting room projector
-
Saudi Arabia confirms another death from SARS-like virus
1 Comment
Why is a parliament required if the emir can pick the prime minister who then appoints the cabinet? What a waste of energy and money.
Either move to a fully democratic system, where the emir remains head of state and the government is elected by the voters, or revert to the old “benevolent dictatorship” model, and convert parliament into a sort of Shoura Council, which can give opinions reflecting electorate concerns but is powerful to influence decisions.
Kuwait has lost decades of growth and development as a result of its poorly conceived “democracy”.