Kuwait Times, Monday, Mar 8, 2021 | Rajab 24, 1442
Monster traffic jams amid chaotic start to curfew
Kuwait:
As Kuwait entered the first day of a 5 pm to 5 am partial lockdown
yesterday, the country was in total paralysis with unprecedented traffic jams
that continued way after the deadline. Motorists posted hundreds of pictures
showing thousands of vehicles motionless on most of Kuwait’s main roads as
people raced against time to beat the deadline.
“Nothing new…another government failure,” commented MP Osama Al-Shaheen on
Twitter. “I said before…the biggest crisis facing Kuwait today is the continuity
of the prime minister at the helm. He has failed to manage the crisis,” said MP
Abdulkarim Al-Kandari.
The government last week decided to re-impose a partial nightly curfew for 12
hours after a spike in the number of coronavirus cases. Kuwait yesterday
reported 1,144 COVID-19 cases and seven deaths. Health Minister Sheikh Basel Al-Sabah,
who recommended the new curfew, was strongly criticized by MPs, who accused him
of failing to manage the pandemic.
Opposition MPs yesterday vowed to file two grillings against the health minister
for his mismanagement of the coronavirus crisis. A large number of MPs
immediately backed the grillings. Two lawsuits were filed yesterday against the
government challenging the legality of the fresh curfew, saying closures have
devastated the economy and the lives of people. The Municipality said yesterday
that markets will remain open from 5 am and close at 4 pm daily, an hour before
the curfew.
Meanwhile, the government and the National Assembly are on the verge of yet
another showdown after two leading members of the opposition yesterday said they
will file to grill HH the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah after
the government referred an opposition-sponsored gathering to court.
MPs Mohammad Al-Mutair and Bader Al-Dahoum said that the interior ministry had
referred the attendees to court even after they agreed to a request by Interior
Minister Sheikh Thamer Al-Sabah to replace the gathering with a press
conference.
Dahoum said the opposition had planned to organize a large gathering in which
thousands would have attended, but agreed to replace it with a press conference
after a meeting with the interior minister. Mutair said the interior minister
was pleased with the change and had said he was a messenger of the prime
minister, adding that this reflected a selective application of the law,
claiming the government had closed its eyes on many gatherings organized by
others.
The two lawmakers held the prime minister responsible for sending the opposition
to court. Dahoum said under 300 people attended the press conference, and
charged that half of them were state informers. A number of opposition lawmakers
immediately announced their support of the grilling.
A number of other MPs had vowed to grill the prime minister over various
charges. The prime minister and the Cabinet resigned in early January, less than
a month after its formation, after three lawmakers filed to grill the premier,
who later took two months to form the new Cabinet.