Spokesman of the Independents Bloc MP Nasser Al-Marri said in the proposals submitted to the National Assembly yesterday that they found that between KD 6-12 billion is squandered annually for providing subsidized public services and commodities.
He said the bloc found that public expenditure is bloated not because of the high wage bill of Kuwaiti citizens as the government claims, but because of the huge bill paid for subsidies from which expatriates benefit.
Marri said the solution to this is to scrap all subsidies, mainly on fuel, electricity and water, and then provide these services free of charge to Kuwaitis and subsequently make expatriates pay full costs.
Based on the latest official figures, the number of Kuwaitis is 1.2 million against 2.6 million expatriates, more than half of whom are either domestic helpers or low-paid menial workers whose monthly salary is less than KD 100 and clearly cannot cope with any increase in the price of essential commodities or services.
Based on statements by the electricity and water ministry, the government sells a kilowatt/hour of electricity for just two fils while its actual production cost is around 38 fils.
Power prices have not been increased since the mid-1960. If the proposal is accepted, the monthly electricity bill for a medium size apartment, which is now at KD 5-6, will increase to as high as KD 100.
The price of fuel has remained unchanged for the past 15 years and is considered one of the lowest in all oil-rich Gulf states.
The government says it pays over KD 1 billion annually to subsidize its cost. The proposals must first be debated by Assembly panels before being debated on the floor. The government must accept them before they can be implemented.
Meanwhile, HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah yesterday received a number of lawmakers and called on them to avoid tension with the government and to consolidate cooperation with the government.
MP Maasouma Al-Mubarak said the meeting did not tackle the issue of waiving interest on loans and focused on boosting cooperation between the Assembly and the government.
The court of appeals yesterday lifted a travel ban imposed on three former MPs in October last year after they delivered speeches at a public rally that were deemed offensive to the Amir.
Former opposition MPs Falah Al-Sawwagh, Khaled Al-Tahous and Bader Al-Dahoum were sentenced to two years in prison each in January by the criminal court for insulting the Amir and undermining his authorities.
The court of appeals however suspended the jail term against them until it has looked into the case. Yesterday, the court lifted the travel ban on them and set April 21 as the date for the next hearing.
In a related development, the trial of former opposition MP Musallam Al-Barrak resumes today in the criminal court. He is on trial on charges of insulting the Amir and undermining his authorities and status. Around 40 lawyers are defending the opposition figure.
The cassation court will also start looking into the case of opposition writer Zayed Al-Zaid who is serving a one-month jail term for accusing some board members of Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) of being corrupt and failing to fight corruption.
Zaid returned from abroad about 10 days ago and was taken straight to jail. The court today can suspend the jail term until the case is settled.
