Political groups meanwhile continued to assess their participation in the new government after the Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM) and the Popular Action Bloc decided not to take part. The surprising move by the ICM was taken at a meeting late Monday night citing a lack of clarity and continued chaos in the country. It however said it will support the next government based on its program and attitude.
ICM accused the government of failing to run the affairs of the country and to achieve reform and development. The ICM had oil minister Mohammad Al-Olaim as its representative in the outgoing Cabinet. He also held the electricity and water portfolio. It was not immediately known however if Olaim would be retained in the next Cabinet in his personal capacity. Before joining the government last year, Olaim was the ICM spokesman.
There was no official comment from other groups, but observers expected the Islamist Salaf Alliance to follow in the footsteps of ICM and this could cost its minister Ahmad Baqer to refuse to join the new Cabinet. The Popular Action Bloc, which was not represented in the previous Cabinet, maintained yesterday that it will not take part in the next one, but added that it could support one it if it tackled important issues.
Spokesman MP Musallam Al-Barrak said the government must have a clear position towards the new refinery project and the multibillion-dollar deal with Dow Chemical. Barrak said the bloc holds the prime minister responsible for the Dow Chemical deal because he is the head of the Supreme Petroleum Council which gave the green light for the deal.
Meanwhile, Islamist MP Abdullatif Al-Ameeri sent 11 questions to the oil minister about the $ 7.5 billion deal with Dow Chemical. He inquired about the legal procedures adopted by Kuwait Petroleum Corp and if the deal was revised by legal bodies. He also inquired about the way in which KPC will pay the cash. Ameeri also asked if the original value of the contract was changed and on what basis and if KPC has been tracking the movement of Dow Chemical’s stock price.
KPC subsidiary Petrochemicals Industries Co (PIC) on December 1 signed a binding deal to establish a 50-50 joint venture with Dow Chemical. PIC will contribute $ 7.5 billion in cash while Dow’s share will be in the form of assets and plants scattered in about eight countries. Many MPs have criticized the deal because it was signed after the government resigned and before the Cabinet approved the deal. They also said that Kuwait’s contribution was inflated because of the global financial meltdown that sent Dow stocks crashing.
