According to Kuwait’s constitution, the Amir will begin consultations with Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi and former speakers, besides leading personalities on the formation of the new
Cabinet.
Khorafi and a number of MPs have said that the Amir intends to reappoint Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to form a new Cabinet which would be his fifth since he was appointed to the post in February 2006. As per the constitution, the Amir can ask Sheikh Nasser or anyone else to form the Cabinet.
Khorafi told reporters that the National Assembly will hold its regular session tomorrow and if the government does not attend, he will adjourn the Assembly until the next regular session on December 30. Khorafi said that unlike following general elections where the new Cabinet must be formed within two weeks, there is no timeline for the new Cabinet to be formed, though he called on the next premier to speed up its formation.
The Amiri decree effectively puts an end to speculations that the Assembly could be dissolved in the wake of its dispute with the government. Khorafi had already quoted the Amir as saying he was not inclined to dissolve the Assembly. MPs welcomed the Amiri decree but called for forming a strong government that should not be based on political, religious or tribal quotas as the previous cabinets were formed.
MP Waleed Al-Tabtabae, one of the three MPs who filed to grill the premier which triggered the latest political crisis, welcomed the acceptance of the resignation saying the grilling was filed because of the government’s mismanagement and confusion and rampant corruption. He called for forming a reformist government capable of confronting the country’s crises and chaos. Asked if the three MPs could take any action if Sheikh Nasser was reappointed as new premier, Tabtabei said the issue will be discussed wh
en this happens.
Many other MPs called for ‘dropping out’ ministers whom they accused of causing crises with MP Hussein Al-Quraiaan naming the ministers of interior and education. MP Ahmad Al-Mulaifi however called for holding Assembly sessions even if the government does not attend, saying the constitution does not clearly stipulate that government’s presence is necessary for Assembly sessions to be legal. He called for the constitutional court to resolve this controversy.
The Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM) meanwhile blasted Mulaifi for criticizing it the previous day over its ambiguous position over the Dow Chemical deal. Mulaifi had also slammed Oil Minister Mohammad Al-Olaim, who is a member of ICM, for allowing the deal. The Petrochemicals Industries Company (PIC), a subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) signed on November 13 a deal with the US petrochemicals giant Dow Chemical to set up a joint venture called K-Dow.
Under the deal, PIC is to pay $ 7.5 billion to own 50 percent of the new company. Dow Chemical’s contribution is through assets in a number of plants distributed worldwide. The original value of the deal was $ 9 billion but the amount was reduced because of the global financial crisis which sent the value of assets crashing.
Many MPs however criticized the deal saying Kuwait should have negotiated for a better deal since the value of the Dow Chemical’s assets has dropped sharply during the past several months. MPs also criticized the way in which the Supreme Petroleum Council (SPC) sanctioned the deal without asking the Audit Bureau to revise the terms of the contract.
MP Musallam Al-Barrak yesterday sent two sets of questions on the issue to the prime minister and oil minister. His questions focussed on procedures and decisions made by the SPC regarding the deal, casting some doubts that the meeting of the SPC in which it approved the deal could have been illegal. His questions to the oil minister focussed on reports that if Kuwait pulls out of the binding contract, it could pay a fine of $ 2.5 billion.
PIC chairwoman Maha Mulla Hussein meanwhile strongly defended the deal, saying it would make the Kuwaiti company a true global petrochemicals leader. Hussein said that Dow Chemical, which is PIC’s partner in a number of huge local projects since 2001, is the world’s leader in petrochemicals manufacturing and technology. It has 150 manufacturing units in 37 countries and exports its products to 175 countries.
Dow Chemical sales last year reached $ 54 billion and it made a net profit of $ 9.2 billion, she said. She said that under the deal, PIC will own 50 percent of K-Dow which will own Dow Chemical assets, plants and research centers in US, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Spain, Holland, Germany and Belgium, adding such a geographic distribution will provide the company with strong commercial opportunities.
Hussein said that PIC managed to reduce its contribution from $ 9 billion to $ 7.5 billion, adding that return on investments would range between 10 percent to 12 percent. But she acknowledged that the party that withdraws from the deal is required to pay a fine of up to $ 2.5 billion. Many expect the deal to be the new flashpoint between the government and the Assembly.
