Three Kuwaiti lawmakers on Monday requested to question Oil Minister Hani Hussein over the payment of a $2.2-billion penalty to Dow Chemical after the emirate pulled out of a deal with the US firm. Saadun Hammad, Nasser al-Marri and Yacoub al-Sane also charged the minister had allowed deals with Israel, as well as approved liquor sales at Kuwait-owned petrol stations in Europe and illegal staff promotions.
Last week, state-owned Petrochemical Industries Co (PIC) said it had reached a final settlement with Dow Chemical to pay the US giant about $2.2 billion (1.7 billion euros). The US firm said it has received the payment, a move that caused a storm of criticism in the oil-rich Gulf state where Dow has a multi-billion-dollar joint petrochemicals project.
Two other MPs meanwhile filed a second request to question Interior Minister Sheikh Ahmad al-Humoud al-Sabah, a ruling family member, for allegedly "attempting to cover up a Kuwaiti terror cell" having links with a similar cell on trial in the United Arab Emirates. MPs Safa al-Hashem and Yussef al-Zalzalah alleged the minister refused to supply information demanded by UAE authorities on Kuwaitis accused of helping UAE Islamists on trial for allegedly plotting to topple the government. The requests could be debated after two weeks as per the parliament charter.
If debated, they might lead to no-confidence votes that may oust the ministers in this major oil-producing emirate. They would also be the first such grillings under the pro-government parliament elected in December amid a bitter political crisis and a total opposition boycott. The requests came a day after speaker Ali al-Rashed said a "six-month moratorium" declared by parliament on grillings was over. In the first grilling, the three MPs charged that the oil minister squandered public funds by accepting a hefty penalty for pulling out of the deal and then paying the fine without defending Kuwait's rights or negotiating with Dow Chemical.
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