By B Izzak
KUWAIT: Opposition lawmaker Muhannad Al-Sayer yesterday sent an appeal to the Amir to intervene to help resolve the country's dilemmas resulting from a lingering political dispute with the government. "I am certain that your highness does not accept the deterioration that has affected all establishments in the state, especially in the legislative assembly.
I am sure you do not accept that there are over 800 immigrant Kuwaitis" who have left the country and are living abroad, Sayer said in statements directed to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah. He said that the deterioration has badly hit employment where some 30,000 Kuwaitis are waiting for jobs and housing where thousands are waiting for houses. The deterioration has negatively impacted health, education and other sectors.
Sayer said that His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah has failed to fulfill promises he made and that his alliance with Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem is obstructing the functioning of the National Assembly. The lawmaker said that political reforms are essential to introduce reforms in housing, education, health and others, adding that corruption has become so rife and insisted that the assembly will refuse to be part of ongoing corruption.
Meanwhile, opposition MP Shuaib Al-Muwaizri warned that the situation is deteriorating fast and "we are heading to a dark path," adding that as a result of the deterioration "you should expect that everything in the country will be sold within the next two years." He also warned that a majority of Kuwaitis will become poor despite the huge wealth. Opposition MP Mubarak Al-Hajraf meanwhile charged what he described as "forces of the darkness and the deep state" are trying to show the parliamentary opposition as if they aim at destabilizing the government which is completely untrue.
In the meantime, the technical office of the assembly's financial and economic affairs committee warned the panel against approving the draft five-year development plan 2020/2021 - 2024/2025 because this will mean approving taxes. The office said in a note that the development plan clearly calls for imposing selective taxes, value added taxes and raising charges on some public services and therefore will negatively impact the income of Kuwaiti citizens.