By B Izzak

KUWAIT: MP Hamad Al-Mudlej threatened on Wednesday that he will initiate a move that could end up dismissing Faisal Al-Shaye, the head of the state accounting watchdog, the Audit Bureau, over alleged violations. Mudlej wrote on Twitter “he will make a decisive stance through a letter to remove the State Audit Bureau chief in the next session” scheduled for July 4 and 5. The lawmaker said the Audit Bureau is involved in “excesses and a coverup of violations”, but he did not provide any specific details.

Shaye is a former MP who served as a lawmaker for several terms before being appointed to lead the Audit Bureau in 2019. The bureau reports to the National Assembly, which also appoints its chief. Meanwhile, MP Bader Al-Mulla filed a petition at the constitutional court challenging the position he secured in the June 6 Assembly polls. Mulla, a former MP and ex-oil minister, was elected in the 10th and last place in the second constituency.

He insisted that he should have come in the eighth position, alleging wrong calculations of votes. Also, five lawmakers submitted a draft law allowing the government to hold direct contracts with foreign companies, omitting the requirement of having a local agent, effectively canceling them. Meanwhile, several Assembly committees on Wednesday elected their heads and rapporteurs.

The budgets committee elected MP Adel Al-Damkhi as head and MP Osama Al-Zaid as its rapporteur. MP Shuaib Al-Muwaizri was elected head of the financial and economic affairs committee and MP Abdulwahab Al-Essa as its rapporteur. The public funds protection committee elected MP Muhalhal Al-Mudhaf as its head while Hamad Al-Alyan was elected as its rapporteur. MP Muhannad Al-Sayer was elected as head of the legal and legislative committee and MP Osama Al-Shaheen as its rapporteur. The interior and defense committee elected MP Khaled Al-Otaibi as its head and MP Mohammad Al-Ajmi as its rapporteur.