Bill seeks SMEs compensation in Kuwait

KUWAIT CITY: National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim and a number of MPs submitted a bill on granting compensation to the owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for the damages they suffered due to the coronavirus crisis.

Al-Ghanim disclosed the bill clearly specifies the beneficiaries to ensure that compensation is granted only to those who truly deserve it. He said another bill is being prepared for employers and expatriate workers to reach an agreement on their situation during the coronavirus crisis. He stressed the need for alternatives to firing a worker or filing a lawsuit against the employer.

In another development, Al-Ghanim confirmed the completion of preparations for the special parliamentary session slated for Tuesday in accordance with the health regulations. He disclosed the session will start at 9:00 am on Tuesday, affirming that the MPs underwent swab test on Monday and they will be vaccinated against corona the following day.

Also, MP Hamdan Al-Azmi submitted a bill to cancel Article Six of Cybercrimes Law No. 63/2015, as the article puts individuals among those covered by the publishing and printing regulations even if they do not have the capabilities of newspapers.

He explained this article put many citizens behind bars for years just because they expressed their opinions on social media, while a large number of families are suffering because their children are in exile. MP Yousef Al-Ghareeb proposed the establishment of a hospital for the handicapped.

The proposal stipulates that the hospital will provide treatment, natural therapy and surgeries to handicapped citizens, in addition to educational and research services for Kuwaiti universities.

The proposal states that Kuwait Municipality will allot land measuring at least 225,000 square meters for the hospital, including the infrastructure. The project will be under the supervision of the Ministry of Public Works and it will be handed over to the Ministry of Health upon completion. MP Muhammad Hadi Al-Hewaila submitted a proposal to establish a hospital for children.

The Ministry of Public Works will construct the hospital within five years and the budget for this hospital will be included in the State budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

MP Marzouq Al-Khalifa presented a bill on amending Article 19 of Law No. 11/1962, which gives the government power to impose travel ban on citizens. He pointed out the current version of the article violates the Constitution which guarantees the travel and movement freedom of citizens. He added the article grants the executive authority more power to impose travel ban on citizens, indicating such penalty is considered illegal.

MP Abdulaziz Al-Saqaabi submitted a bill to cancel Article Five of Constitutional Court Law No. 73, because it authorizes the court to rule on appeals regarding the results of parliamentary elections, cancel parliamentary membership and dissolve the Assembly. He argued the aforementioned functions used to be under the jurisdiction of the Assembly until the ratification of the law, which obliged the Assembly to hand over some of its powers to the Constitutional Court 50 years ago.

The lawmaker said that the bill is aimed at keeping judges and the judicial authority away from political disputes and to prevent overlapping powers. He added the law suspended six articles of the National Assembly Decree as the functions stipulated in these articles were transferred to the Constitutional Court.

On the other hand, the parliamentary Legal and Legislative Affairs Committee on Monday discussed bills about citizenship, social allowance and Bedouns. Committee Chairman MP Khalid Ayed Al-Anzi disclosed that the panel unanimously rejected the bill on amending Article Eight of Nationality Law No. 15/1959 in a bid to allow a non-Kuwaiti widow or divorcee who have children with the Kuwaiti husband to apply for citizenship.