KUWAIT: A new Cabinet will be formed soon to deal with the budgets and dissolution of the parliament, a source told Kuwait Times. To deal with the constitutional procedures with regards to plans by the political leadership to dissolve the National Assembly, a ministerial source said the intention is to announce the appointment of a new prime minister, who could be HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah or someone else, to form a new Cabinet within a week after the assignment decree, and this government will attend Assembly sessions and start discussions over the general budget and financial status of the state. The current parliamentary term will be conclude following the Eid Al-Adha break.

"A new government formation is the best constitutional choice to avoid contesting the legality of the current government's attendance while being a caretaker Cabinet, as constitutional experts say a resigned government does not have the right to discuss major matters such as budgets," the source argued.

The new government will be short-lived, no longer than the year's end, the source said, adding that its duty is to prepare for the new National Assembly elections, as it is expected the Assembly will be dissolved in October and elections will be held in December, adding the constitutional dissolution of the National Assembly stipulates that new elections must be held within two months from the date of the dissolution decree, otherwise the Assembly that was dissolved returns under the constitution as if it was not dissolved.

Employment policies

Separately, the government postponed the creation of a government body specialized in implementing employment policies that suit actual market needs until a new Cabinet is formed, after a ministerial committee completed the study of the issue and decided on the official entities that will handle this issue.

Follow-up of the current employment policy by the Civil Service Commission revealed that ministerial compliance with recommendations and instructions by CSC is not adequate, ministerial sources told Kuwait Times. This caused a shakeup in the appointment mechanism of Kuwaitis and expatriates, adding that appointment of expats on the reward system for example, or appointment of Kuwaitis in jobs other than their specialties, are among the biggest criticisms.

Sources said the government agreed to form a higher body headed by the deputy premier and state minister for Cabinet affairs and includes all ministry undersecretaries, in addition to CSC and Public Authority of Manpower (PAM), along with members of the private sector. This body will redirect appointments in a way that meets actual market needs and employs Kuwaitis in the private sector.

Sources said this committee will work on setting appointment policies in cooperation with higher education institutions such as Kuwait University, Ministry of Higher Education, PAAET and the Private Universities Council. These entities will accept high school graduates according to market needs in Kuwait, which the goal to provide new job opportunities for Kuwaitis to replace 50,000 expats within five years at various government entities.