The Council of Ministers should nominate the chairman and vice chairman of the authority subject to the approval of the majority of MPs. The bill obligates senior officials to submit statements of their assets and liabilities every two years, instead of three years. A committee will be formed to review the statements and its members should be well-reputed officials whose qualifications match their tasks, not judges as per the current law.

Appointed

A seven-member Board of Trustees will chair the authority, while the board chairman and his deputy will be appointed through a decree as per the nomination of the Cabinet and approval of the Assembly. The board chairman and his deputy will be dismissed only if majority of the MPs approve the dismissal. The other five members of the board will be appointed by the Council of Ministers. The bill also stipulates more protection for whistleblowers in coordination with the Ministry of Interior.

On the other hand, MP Osama Al-Zaid forwarded queries to Minister of Information and Culture and State Minister for Youth Affairs Abdulrahman Al-Mutairi about the plan of the State Ministry for Youth Affairs to develop the sports sector. He requested for details about the Olympic champion program, if any. He asked if the ministry has rewarded Kuwaitis who won international competitions from 2015 till date, if some of them have yet to receive the reward, if decision numbers 153/2007 and 713/2014 remain in effect, and the impact on athletes if the response is in the affirmative.

Also, based on the advisory of the Embassy of Kuwait in Jordan for Kuwaitis studying in that country to be vigilant and adhere to the directive of Jordanian authorities to avoid going to the southern part of Jordan due to the ongoing protests and riots there; MP Jenan Bu Shehri asked Minister of Education, Higher Education and Research Ahmed Abdulwahab Al-Adwani about the number of Kuwaitis studying in Jordan, if the ministry has coordinated with its Foreign Affairs counterpart and the Embassy of Kuwait in Jordan on the evacuation of the students if the need arises, and if the ministry laid down a plan for the students to continue their education in Kuwait in case they are evacuated.

Recruitment

In another development, MP Osama Al-Shaheen asked Al-Adwani to provide him with a copy of the regulations on the recruitment of lecturers, researchers and administrative staff at Sabah Al-Salem University. He wants to know if the regulations are in line with the transparency and governance principles.

Moreover, Assembly Speaker Ahmed Al-Saadoun presided over the meeting of the Assembly Office on Thursday; with Deputy Speaker Muhammad Al-Mutair, Observer Abdulkareem Al-Kandari, Financial and Economic Affairs Committee Chairman MP Shuaib Al-Muwaizri, Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee Chairman MP Muhannad Al-Sayer, Parliamentary Priorities Committee Chairman MP Abdullah Fehad and Secretary General Adel Al-Lugani in attendance. The speaker also met with Kuwaiti Ambassador to Portugal Hamad Ali Al-Huzaim, Kuwait Ambassador to Argentina Abdullah Al-Yahya and Ambassador of Kyrgyzstan to Kuwait Azamat Karagulov.