An announcement naming Kuwait’s new prime minister will be made during the first week after the Eid Al-Adha break, most likely on Tuesday, July 19, sources told Kuwait Times. The prime minister-designate will have a few days to form his Cabinet, then take the oath of office before HH the Amir. This process will not go beyond the end of this month or the start of August.
The Cabinet’s formation will not take more than a month, said the sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The new Cabinet will be short-lived, as it will deal with the new National Assembly elections after the current parliament is dissolved in September or October. Elections will take place within two months from the dissolution decree. The government will then resign, leading to consultations for the formation of a new government. Sources said the new Cabinet will attend a National Assembly session to approve the budgets and closing accounts and the state’s financial status, then parliamentary sessions will end and will not discuss any proposed laws or any other issues.
HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah had submitted his resignation in early April following a grilling by opposition MPs and after 26 lawmakers, two more than the required quorum, said they will support a motion to declare non-cooperation with the premier. The resignation had been accepted by HH the Amir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled and the cabinet were asked to continue as a care-taker government to run emergency matters.
In a national speech last month, HH the Amir announced plans to dissolve the National Assembly and call for fresh polls to end ongoing political disputes between the government and opposition MPs that had effectively paralyzed the functioning of the government and the assembly for months. Forming a new Cabinet is important to issuing the Amiri decree dissolving the assembly.
HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah held talks Wednesday with current and former national assembly speakers and prime ministers as part of the customary consultations before naming a new premier. HH the Crown Prince could rename HH Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled to form a new cabinet or may name a new personality to form the cabinet.
Medicines’ budget
In other news, Health Minister Dr Khalid Al-Saeed asked the Cabinet for a KD 260 million budget for medicines and medical supplies for the strategic reserves to boost health security in the country, sources told Kuwait Times. He also asked for warehouses of an area of at least 35 sq m with international specifications to be approved by the engineering and projects affairs department in coordination with the medicines and medical supplies department in the ministry.
Saeed justified his request in an official letter by saying that the COVID-19 pandemic caused problems internationally, with difficulties in supplying medicines due to insufficient financial allocations for medicines and medical supplies, in addition to many companies declining to meet orders due to a rise in raw material prices and lack of storage spaces./agencies
