MP Majed Al-Mutairi

KUWAIT: MP Majed Al-Mutairi yesterday submitted a proposal calling on the government to provide Kuwaiti housewives who do not work with a monthly assistance of KD 300. He said the assistance should be treated like the assistance paid to Kuwaitis who work in the private sector. This is not the first time that a Kuwaiti MP has made such a proposal. All previous suggestions never materialized.

Opposition MP Riyadh Al-Adasani said yesterday the Assembly has committed a legal violation while approving a KD 6.2 billion supplementary bill for defense purchases. He said the Assembly approved KD 3.2 billion to be included in the budget over the next 10 years, while the remaining KD 3 billion will be withdrawn from the state reserves, also over the next 10 years. Adasani said the two amounts should have been included in the budget for 10 years and no direct withdrawals should have been made from the state reserve fund.

Separately, the National Assembly's financial and economic affairs committee insisted yesterday that the early retirement law which was rejected by the government is in line with the constitution and will be sent to the Assembly for a second approval. The law was overwhelmingly passed by the Assembly in May despite government reservations, but the government rejected it and sent it back to the Assembly.

The Assembly can override the government rejection by passing the law again but with a two-thirds majority, which was not available in the previous term. However, under the Kuwait constitution, the Assembly can pass the same law with a simple majority if voting takes place in the next term. During the committee meetings to discuss the rejected law, Finance Minister Nayef Al-Hajraf told the panel that the law, which allows Kuwaiti male and female employees to seek early retirement, breached the constitution.

By Meshaal Al-Enezi and B Izzak