Kuwaiti government steps down

KUWAIT CITY – The Kuwaiti cabinet, in office for barely eight months, resigned yesterday ahead of a no-confidence vote against a senior minister, the latest political crisis in the oil-rich emirate.

“All members of the government have submitted their resignations to Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammad Nasser al-Ahmad al-Sabah,” Deputy Prime Minister Ismail al-Shatti told state television. The move came after the government failed to secure enough support in parliament to avoid voting Health Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Sabah out of office in a session scheduled for today.To pass, the motion would have required a simple majority of 25 MPs in the 50-seat parliament in the emirate ruled by Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah.Sheikh Ahmad, a senior member of the ruling Al-Sabah family, faced the possibility of being dismissed from office after 10 lawmakers filed a motion of no-confidence against him following a grilling on February 19.The minister was accused by some opposition MPs of being responsible for “grave medical errors that led to the death of several patients” as well as of financial and administrative wrongdoings.MPs also charged that the standard of public medical services in Kuwait had deteriorated under Sheikh Ahmad.Kuwaiti citizens are entitled to free medical care while foreign residents pay annual health insurance.Ahmad was appointed health minister less than two years ago after his predecessor Mohammad al-Jarallah resigned after a similar grilling by parliament.No Kuwaiti minister has ever been voted out of office since parliament was introduced to the emirate in 1962, but several ministers have been forced to quit to avoid no-confidence votes.The Kuwaiti cabinet was formed in July following an election which saw the opposition made up of nationalist, Islamic and liberal groups gain majority control in parliament.Nampa-AFPThe move came after the government failed to secure enough support in parliament to avoid voting Health Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah al-Sabah out of office in a session scheduled for today.To pass, the motion would have required a simple majority of 25 MPs in the 50-seat parliament in the emirate ruled by Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah.Sheikh Ahmad, a senior member of the ruling Al-Sabah family, faced the possibility of being dismissed from office after 10 lawmakers filed a motion of no-confidence against him following a grilling on February 19.The minister was accused by some opposition MPs of being responsible for “grave medical errors that led to the death of several patients” as well as of financial and administrative wrongdoings.MPs also charged that the standard of public medical services in Kuwait had deteriorated under Sheikh Ahmad.Kuwaiti citizens are entitled to free medical care while foreign residents pay annual health insurance.Ahmad was appointed health minister less than two years ago after his predecessor Mohammad al-Jarallah resigned after a similar grilling by parliament.No Kuwaiti minister has ever been voted out of office since parliament was introduced to the emirate in 1962, but several ministers have been forced to quit to avoid no-confidence votes.The Kuwaiti cabinet was formed in July following an election which saw the opposition made up of nationalist, Islamic and liberal groups gain majority control in parliament.Nampa-AFP