(MENAFN- Arab Times) MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan has submitted a draft bill on prohibiting participation in armed fighting or wars abroad or raising funds for the fighters; thereby, criminalizing these acts. Article One of the bill prohibits participation in armed struggles or wars outside the State against the member-nations of the Arab League or the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)
Article Two bans all methods or expressions to encourage participation or call for fighting against the nations mentioned in Article One of this law. Article Three prohibits the collection of all donations for those fighting against the nations mentioned in Article One
Article Four stipulates punishment of not less than three years imprisonment for those proven to have violated Article One, and not less than two years imprisonment for those proven to have violated Article Two; in addition to confiscating monies and all tools related to the crime, and the closure of places where these tools are kept. Article Five states the provisions of articles 82 and 83 of the Penal Code do not apply to the provisions of this law
In the explanatory note, Al-Duwaisan pointed out this bill aims to preserve the higher interest of Kuwait and ties with its neighbors - the Arab and Islamic countries. It states that the participation of citizens or residents in fighting and using arms against the armies of these countries may put the interests of Kuwait and its citizens at risk and be considered being involved in a real war or may endanger the Kuwaiti citizens or embassies abroad. Meanwhile, head of the Public Funds Protection Committee MP Jamal Al-Omar met a delegation from the US Embassy, including political expert Ahmed Fawzi and the counselor for political affairs in the embassy, to discuss ways of combating corruption. He said they focused on the constitutional and legal procedures, as well as Kuwait's efforts to combat corruption and passage of required laws
They also tackled the work towards development of democracy to promote the values ??of transparency and integrity in a bid to improve Kuwait's rank in the corruption indicators worldwide
In another development, the parliamentary Bedoun Affairs Committee discussed Monday a draft bill on the inclusion of Bedouns with physical abilities in Handicap Law number 8/2010. Director of the Public Authority for Handicap Affairs Dr Jassem Al-Tammar, his deputy - Esam Haidar, and representative of the Social Affairs and Labor Ministry of Dr Zaki Al-Sulaimi attended the meeting. Speaking to the press after the meeting, Committee Chairman Abdullah Al-Tamimi disclosed that Al-Tammar informed the committee on the need to amend the bill prior to approval, especially Article Two which states the law is applicable only to handicapped Kuwaitis and children born to Kuwaiti mothers married to non-Kuwaitis. He said the committee members reached an agreement with Al-Tammar and his team to present all the required revisions for the MPs to submit them as a bill to be approved by the Parliament. He explained the bill, once approved, will grant privileges to Bedouns with disabilities like their Kuwaiti counterparts. On the complaints regarding alleged manipulations and forgery in the handicap files, Al-Tamimi confirmed the committee discussed the issue with representatives of the authority. He said the committee stressed the need to speed up the evaluation of these files because any delay may affect the transactions of the real beneficiaries
On another issue, MP Riyadh Al- Adsani presented questions to Minister of State for Housing Affairs Yasser Abul on the reasons behind the continuous decline in the net profit of the Credit Bank and financing of the construction of housing units Al-Adsani revealed he obtained information that the government is facing difficulties in the construction and distribution of 12,000 housing units this year as the total cost will exceed the capital of the bank and will cause a deficit in the bank's balance sheet; so he wants the minister to provide him with details of the actual cost of implementing the project
He inquired about the visions, solutions and alternatives to address the deficit problem in the bank in case of granting KD10,000 housing loan to citizens in the coming years. He wants to know the factors leading to the continuous decline in the bank's net profits which amounted to KD 68,495,821 for fiscal 2009/2010; KD64,223,172 for fiscal 2010/2011 and KD 61,553,264 for fiscal 2011/2012. He asked about the future plan to address this problem. In the meantime, the Human Resources Development Committee has assigned a joint team to prepare a study within two weeks on the alternative strategy for salaries, after it recorded its observations and reservations on the study prepared by the Civil Service Commission (CSC). Committee Chairman MP Yakoub Al- Sanei revealed that representatives from the Supreme Council for Planning, Kuwait Economic Society and a number of government agencies attended the panel meeting on Monday. He explained there were different views on the strategic alternative for salaries, but they agreed to work within two weeks, maximum, to find solutions. He affirmed the committee is willing to cooperate with the government in addressing the issue
He said a team has been formed to work with the CSC, private sector, Supreme Council for Planning, Kuwait Economic Society, and Manpower and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP) to find plausible solutions. He added the decision on the strategic alternative will be based on facts and figures, in accordance with the educational output and the private sector. He said the committee will present its report within two weeks, and there will also be a mechanism to assess performance of the government
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