Lawmakers look into diesel smuggling and shell oil contract in Kuwait

At a regular session on Tuesday, the National Assembly endorsed a number of decisions on several vital issues with inputs by some ministers.For instance, the lawmakers agreed to the request by the State Audit Bureau to get more time to prepare its reports on the sticky issue of the smuggling of diesel fuel and on the contract signed between Shell Oil Co. and Kuwait Oil Co.The lawmakers furthermore endorsed a request by the chairman of the parliamentary committee on health, social, and labor affairs to refer issues on youth and sport, wrongly sent to the committee, to be turned over to the committee on youth and sport affairs, for these topics are the domain of the latter committee.Moreover the lawmakers agreed to a request by the chairman of the committee on education and cultural affairs to probe thoroughly the problem of the lack of availability of classes at the University of Kuwait and the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training.Addressing the parliament in today's session was Minister of Information and State Minister for Youth Affairs Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah who informed the lawmakers that issues on youth affairs were taken very seriously by the government, so much so that the cabinet had approved a study separating issues regarding the youth from those on sports. Previously both were handled by one entity, he said.Besides that, he added, a special committee has been formed to deal with the question of improving sports in the country and re-organizing and overhauling the Authority for Youth and Sport Affairs. He also indicated that a new charter for sports was in its final stages of completion in which such things would be clearly spelled out as complete respect for the Olympic Charter, and the emphasis on the government's role in promoting sports and social and cultural programs for Kuwaiti youth.Likewise, the Minister of Oil addressed the lawmakers today regarding the issue of the signed contact with Shell Oil Co, about which a number of lawmakers commented.The minister explained that the State Audit Bureau had thoroughly examined the details of the contract and recorded its reservations on it and had turned the entire issue over to the public prosecutor's office. He said the whole matter was currently under the purview of the court and that the ministry and others would do well to await the decision of the court.