KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Ahmad Al-Saadoun informed lawmakers on Tuesday that the Assembly has received the government’s program of action. In the program, the government issued a stern warning that economic and financial reforms must not be delayed any longer, otherwise the cost of such reforms will be too expensive and the procedure will be extremely difficult.

The government said in the program that it wants to review charges to a number of public services that are not controlled by a 30-year-old law banning the government from raising charges on some public services without the prior approval of the Assembly. The government said its program aims at restoring  the leading role of the private sector in the national economy by offering more investment opportunities to the sector to help it create job opportunities for citizens.

The program lists several objectives it plans to achieve in the next 100 days. These include taking measures to control price rises, repricing a number of government services that have a limited impact on citizens, preparing the draft of corporate tax law and studying sections of the society that deserve to receive public subsidies.

The program also lists 22 pieces of legislation that should be approved by the Assembly throughout the current term that ends in July. These include the northern economic zone, amending the wage scheme in the government sector, the selective tax law, amending the residency law for expats, establishing an independent establishment for electricity and water, regulating the information sector and others. The program says that the average spending on wages in Kuwait is three times higher than that of members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which comprises advanced economies of Western nations.

Average foreign investment is very low in Kuwait, lower by nine times than in Middle East and North African countries and lower by 12 times than OECD members, the program stated. Budget deficits are projected to continue if prevailing factors are not corrected, the program said. Current deficit is KD 3 billion and is expected to rise to KD 13 billion in 2033. The oil price needed to balance the budget this year is $78 a barrel and in 2033 is expected to be above $100 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly voted to agree on a government request to delay for a month debating two populist draft laws calling to hike citizens’ cost of living allowance and providing interest-free loans to retired Kuwaitis. Thirty-six MPs, including Cabinet ministers, voted for the delay requested by the new government, while 26 lawmakers voted against the move, saying the two draft legislations are needed to serve the Kuwaiti people.

Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Dawood Maarafi, the only elected MP in the Cabinet, vowed that the delay does not mean that the government is opposed to the two legislations and populist laws, but it wants to review them carefully. MPs opposed to the delay insisted that the new government, formed just two weeks ago, is sending a wrong signal to the Assembly and the people. Others said the government has managed to break up the solid bloc consisting of 48 out of the 50 lawmakers.

During the session, MPs agreed to extend the work of a parliamentary panel probing alleged torture by the defense ministry against a Kuwaiti citizen by two months to complete its investigation and report. MP Marzouq Al-Ghanem protested against the lengthy extension, saying the committee had been given a lot of time. Head of the panel MP Mohammad Hayef said the committee’s investigation was interrupted by the demise of former Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.