His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah is reported to be finalizing the names and ministerial portfolios of the new cabinet, and would likely be presented to His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-jaber Al-Sabah before the end of next week.
Sources at the National Assembly said that parliament had been notified that the new Cabinet will be announced next week, so that Assembly Speaker Marzouq A-Ghanem could call for the next parliamentary session on Tuesday, 24 December.The Cabinet will be sworn-in during the first session of the National Assembly after taking oath before His Highness the Amir.
Knowledgeable sources also revealed the prime minister had decided to induct Sheikh Abdullah Al-Nawaf Al-Sabah as defense minister, Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah as foreign minister and Sheikh Thamer Ali Al-Salem Al-Sabah as interior minister.
Other potential ministers include MP Rakan Al-Nisf as commerce minister and Tareq Al-Merzam as minister of information, while Mohammad Al-Jabri will remain in the new Cabinet. In addition, an Islamic Constitutional Movement (ICM) member, probably Mohammed Al-Dalal, will also join the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, some lawmakers have urged the speaker to resume parliamentary sessions, as the government had failed to form a cabinet despite the passage of nearly a month since the appointment of a new prime minister.
Parliamentarians, Abdullah Al-Kandari and Bader Al-Mulla urged the speaker to resume parliamentary sessions saying, “There are many unfinished issues that require holding daily meetings to resolve them. We also need to continue monitoring government performance to fight and prevent corruption.” MP Khalil Abul added that delaying the Cabinet formation was not a good sign, “The government that claims to fight corruption should not delay the legislative power’s work,” he said.
However, other parliamentarians said that the prime minister was constitutionally obliged to form a cabinet within a specified time, if the parliament is still in office. “It only urges the premier to form the Cabinet within two weeks effective the day of his appointment after the election of a new parliament,” they said.
