Dashti: Government prog based on emir's Kuwait 35 vision

Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Rola Dashti said the government submitted its program to the parliament, which included a comprehensive reform approach based on His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah's "Kuwait 2035" vision to tranforming the country into financial and trade hub. Dashti, also Minister of State for Planning and Development Affairs, urged the parliament to examine the program "with the eye of the partner who is keen on the higher interest of the country, and to discuss it objectively taking into consideration economic, financial and social realities locally and internationally, and away from political calculations ... ." Dashti, in a press statement Sunday, said the government and parliament should join hands to remove all obstacles in order to push sustainable economic and social development forward. She hoped the national assembly approved the draft legislations in the program as soon as possible. "Kuwait is in a race against time which means that the Kuwaiti society should live up to its responsibilities ... and to work towards comprehensive reforms ... to achieve sustainable prosperity." Dashti warned against continuation of "low fees paid for services and goods, with almost complete absence of tax revenues ... which will force Kuwait to face deficit between 2012-2029." She said the government was keen on development and reforms, completing legislative foundation for its program and improving its performance. This, added Dashti, required economic, financial and structural reforms, strengthening national unity and responsible spirit of citizenship, sustainable social prosperity, creating jobs, providing of housing care and improving health care. The government also wants to develop education, culture and media, improve infrastructure, activate institutional governance, and boosting transparency, said Dashti. Dashti said wages would be linked with production, and the government would establish a center to train senior-level employees, setting a cap on number of years of service of senior employees, as well as regulating appointments and promotion means. Dashti said the government planned to build 36,705 housing units and extend around 4,200 loans to citizens to buy and build houses, as well as encouraging partnership between public and private sectors to build Al-Khairan and Al-Mutlaa cities through establishment of shareholding companies, in which citizens would have 50 percent stake. The minister said beds at hospitals would increase from 7,990 to 11,439 by end of 2007, and clinics would increase from 101 to 125, in addition to constructing 33 schools. Dashti said the government would build infrastructure of Sabah Al-Salem University City and raise capacity of Kuwait University and colleges of the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), as well as developing distance learing. She added the government would create a mechanism to collect arrears for electricity, water and communication services, as well as modifying fees on services and goods with the objective of ending waste. Value of development projects to be carried out by the new shareholding companies is expected to be around KD 12 billion, she said. She added the North Zour Station would be one of the major companies. The minister said the companies that would be established would develop conventional electricity and water desalination, use solar energy, sewage treatment, health insurance and housing, as well as other firms specializing in vital projects. The government, said Dashti, wanted to improve competitiveness, support small and medium-size enterprises, create logistics for trade and industrial services. Expanding Kuwait International Airport to increase capacity to 25 million passengers and completing the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Port are among the government's priorities, she added. Dashti said around 77,500 Kuwait would be employed in the next four years. The minister said the government would also focus on cultural projects.