KT 3-4-2013_Layout 1 - Kuwait Times

LOCAL
Sharp increase in number of
speed cameras on streets
By Nawara Fattahova
KUWAIT: The heavily increased
number of speed cameras dotting
News
in brief
Iraqi military attaché
KUWAIT: Iraq asked Kuwait to open a post of military
attaché in the country in a request that the Iraqi embassy
handed to the Foreign Ministry in Kuwait, a local newspaper
reported yesterday quoting an independent news agency.
The original report released by the Enferaad News Agency
and published by Al-Watan yesterday quoted diplomatic
sources who indicated that Kuwait remained “reserved” on
the issue of Iraqi request which they say “has been submitted
more than two months ago.” The sources, who were not
named in the report, meanwhile indicated that this issue
was likely to be clinched during the planned visit of Kuwait’s
Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah to
Baghdad in the near future. The visit is expected to address
the issue of border demarcation, investments in Iraq and
other pending issues between the two countries.
KIA retirement incentives
KUWAIT: The Kuwait Investment Authority is planning a
retirement program through which it will be able to
encourage employees serving for long to retire and create
opportunities for younger staff members to assume leading
positions, a local newspaper reported yesterday quoting
sources privy to the development. The proposed ‘package’
calls for paying an ‘end of service’ reward equivalent to
30-month salary to an employee who has spent a minimum
of 28 years in office. The proposal also stipulates promoting
employees before retirement so that they can
enjoy pensions based on the basic salary in their promoted
rank.
Ministry plans to add more
the Kuwaiti roads has been proving
to be a terrifying prospect for many
drivers, especially those driving fast.
The drivers are already aware that
KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti streets seem to be full of cameras, yet
new ones are being added. — Photos by Joseph Shagra
many new cameras have been
installed in the last two months, but
they also know that these are not
working yet.
Earlier, the Ministry had
announced that these new cameras
will be functional from this month.
Adel Al-Hashash PR, Moral Guidance
and Director of the Security
Information branch of the Ministry
of Interior informed the Kuwait
Times that the speed cameras were
already functional and drivers who
were violating speed limits will be
penalized.
“The newly installed cameras are
still being tested to examine their
efficiency. This does not mean that
the drivers found jumping speed
limits would not be slapped with
fines. They will certainly be penalized,”
he pointed out.
Although the streets seem to be
full of cameras, yet new ones are
being added. “The Ministry is currently
working on adding new
speed cameras along the ‘Safety
Lanes’ on both sides of the roads.
Currently, there are only a few cameras
along these lines that are functional.
Some installed earlier were
only temporary. We noticed that
many drivers are committing this
violation and were using these
lanes meant for emergency purposes.
So we decided to have more
cameras to bring down the number
of these violations,” added Al-
Hashash.
The increasing number of speed
cameras does not bother 41-yearold
Ibtisam. “I respect the traffic
rules and I drive carefully, so I am
rarely fined. And if I do commit a
violation, it is usually for wrong
parking or other lesser mistakes, not
for over speeding or jumping a red
light. I agree that the there should
be more cameras as I think it will
help curb the instance of violations
on the roads as drivers will be more
careful and will decrease their
speed to avoid paying fines,” she
stated.
But 27-year-old Hamad is
annoyed by the new cameras. “I
hate seeing cameras on the roads. I
think these cameras are the reason
for more accidents. Many of them
were added recently and people are
not used to these as yet, so they
slow down suddenly which causes
more accidents. In my view, the
speed is not always responsible for
the accidents. It is the lack of attention
that is ranked as the number
one factor causing accidents,
according to the statistics of the
Ministry of Interior,” he noted.
In a separate issue, Adel Al-
Hashash commented on the news
published in local media recently
regarding new additional strict conditions
for issuing driving licenses
to expat drivers.
“What was published in the
press was a proposal which has not
been approved so far as a law or a
regulation. This proposal is under
study and will be filtered and
passed on to the legal and legislative
committee at the Ministry. It
will be then approved and submitted
to the institutions in charge. The
public will be informed about any
new regulations,” he concluded.
Approval for food, national electoral committee
KUWAIT: The National Assembly approved
unanimously at its regular session yesterday of
a draft law decree on establishing a public
authority for food and nutrition after being discussed
and voted for in its first deliberation.
Number of MPs affirmed the country’s need
for such a type of draft laws, especially in light
of what has been stirred lately of suspension
about availability of rotten meat in local market,
and other related violations due to nonexistence
of an actual control body over food.
They stressed necessity of adopting and
implementing the law, as well as stiffen penal-
ties for law violators, demanding at the same
time finding of specialized plants that teach
examination of imported food as soon as possible
in order to disallow quarantining it, destroying
it, costing their owners, and intervention of
“wasta” in entering rotten food to the country.
On the other hand, the interior and defense
parliamentary committee approved today of a
draft law decree 21/2012 on the higher national
electoral committee.
The committee has approved of a draft law
decree on the higher national electoral committee
during its meeting on the sideline of
Cabinet to implement ‘Youth
Convention’ document
KUWAIT: Prime Minister HH Sheikh Jaber
Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah has received a recommendation
from HH the Amir to
implement the articles of the ‘National
Document for Youth’ - a set of regulations
aimed at meeting the demands of young
citizens, which were raised during the
National Youth Convention held last
month. According to sources with knowledge
of the case, the cabinet is expecting
to “assign Minister of Information and
Minister of Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman
Al-Hmoud Al-Sabah to study the document
in order to put together the necessary
plans to implement its articles” during
a meeting scheduled to be held
shortly.
Meanwhile, the same sources that
spoke to Al-Rai on the condition of
anonymity revealed that the ‘permanent
ministerial committee for youths affairs’,
recently formed by the cabinet, has started
“developing a comprehensive program
to support young people’s projects”,
which was adopted by the Amiri Dewan.
The program reportedly focuses on helping
young people implement their ideas
and further develop their small projects.
“This part of the Amiri Dewan’s efforts to
turn Kuwait into an international fiscal
and commercial hub”, the sources said.
Meanwhile, former MP Musallam Al-
Barrak again called on the government to
‘keep some painkillers at hand’ in preparation
for the opposition’s planned activities
over the coming few weeks.
Speaking on Sunday as the general
coordinator of the Opposition Coalition,
Al-Barrak announced that four events
would be held over this month, which
would culminate in a “large field activity,
the time and place of which will be determined
in early May”. The leading opposition
politician explained that the activities
would coincide with a highly anticipated
Constitutional Court ruling with regard to
challenges to the electoral law amendment,
which is set to be made on June
16. “The activities are set to begin on April
10, with a gathering at the municipality
yard in which the main topic of discussion
will be ‘the elected cabinet and facing
freedom suppression’”, Al-Barrak told
reporters after a meeting at the coalition’s
political office. He added that a second
sitting was scheduled to be held seven
days later, titled ‘the elected cabinet and
the future of generations’, which would
be followed by a similar event on April 24
- entitled ‘the elected cabinet and achieving
justice’. The final gathering is set to
take place on May 1 outside the Jaber
Stadium, before a date is later announced
for a major rally “which will be held on a
date very close to the ruling’s day”,
according to Al-Barrak.
The opposition demands that the
government withdraw an amendment
that changed the number of votes per
voter from a maximum of four to one,
and scrap the parliament that was elected
last December on the basis of the
amended electoral law. The opposition
had boycotted the elections on the pretext
that the amendment was aimed at
hurting their chances of securing a majority
in the house. The opposition is also
pushing for wide-scale amendments that
will move Kuwait towards having full parliamentary
system, in which the cabinet is
formed from the parliament’s majority.
Senior opposition figures have indicated
on many earlier occasions that they will
continue to press their demands for an
elected cabinet even if the Constitutional
Court upholds the amendment to the
electoral law.
Traffic officer
beaten up
By Hanan Al-Saadoun
KUWAIT: A traffic police officer approached authorities at
Adan police station complaining that eight youth beat him
up while he was doing his duty. The policeman said he
received a report about some people driving recklessly in the
Adan Area. Upon reaching the area, he closed the road to
prevent them from escaping. The enraged youth beat him
up. He was able to note down the number of one of the cars
driven by those youth.
Poles smashed
An official working at the MEW reported to the Taima
police that 11 lighting poles were smashed on purpose to
steal electric cables inside. He said the theft happened at the
Convoy Road.
Citizen assaulted
A Kuwaiti man reported to the police that a person
assaulted him and tried to run him over in his car at Wafra
Road near kilo 12. He supplied the police with his car number.
Investigation is on.
Infant’s body
Detectives at the Mubarak Al-Kaber governorate were trying
to identify a person who left a newly born baby near a
citizen’s house. The infant died of lack of care. Security
sources said that the infant’s body was taken to the medical
examiner as there were doubts that stray dogs could have
mauled the infant.
parliament’s regular session, the committee’s
rapporteur MP Abdullah Al-Tamimi stated to
reporters.
He added that the decree was unanimously
approved in presence of Counselor Ahmad Al-
Ajeel, head of Supreme National Elections
Commission, Counselor Faisal Khuraibet,
Counselor Salem Al-Khudair, Counselor
Abdulaziz Al-Majed, and Counselor Mohammad
AbuSlaib.
Moreover, MP Al-Tamimi noted that the committee
is to submit its report to the agenda of
tomorrow’s session as urgent to vote for. —- KUNA
KUWAIT: Bangladesh Embassy in Kuwait
hosted a reception on April 1, 2013 at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel on the occasion of
42nd anniversary of the Independence and
National Day of Bangladesh. On this occasion,
Dr. Mohammed Barrak Alhaifi,
Kuwait’s Minister for Health was the Guest
of Honour.
A large number of high level Kuwaiti
dignitaries, diplomats, media personnel,
Embassy officials and their spouses, members
of Bangladesh Military Contingent
(BMC) in Kuwait and Bangladesh community
representatives attended the event.
The program began with the national
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3, 2013
—Photos by Joseph Shagra
Bangladesh Embassy holds
National Day reception
anthems of Kuwait and Bangladesh played
by the Band of Bangladesh Military
Contingent in Kuwait. Syed Shahed Reza,
Ambassador of Bangladesh to Kuwait and
the Guest of Honour Dr Mohammed Barrak
Alhaifi cut a decorated cake prepared specially
for the occasion.
Throughout the program, the BMC band
entertained the audience by playing
enthralling tunes. A number of documentaries
and vivid slide shows displayed the
culture, traditions, religions, and beautiful
landscape of Bangladesh. The distinguished
guests were also served delicious
traditional food.