Kuwait finance ministry appoints new senior officials after resignations

Kuwaiti Finance Minister Barak Al-Shaitan appointed new senior ministry officials after several resignations last week. (File/KUNA)

• Aseel Al-Saad Al-Munifi was given the role of undersecretary
• Several officials resigned last week

KUWAIT: Kuwait’s finance minister on Monday appointed new senior ministry officials after the ministry undersecretary and five other officials resigned last week.
Aseel Al-Saad Al-Munifi was given the role of undersecretary alongside her current position as assistant undersecretary for budgetary affairs, a statement on the ministry’s Twitter account said.
The six ministry employees wrote in a letter on Wednesday they were resigning in protest at a staff reshuffle at the ministry this year and policy differences. The finance minister accepted the resignations.
One of the most pressing issues facing Kuwait’s new Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who took power following the death of the country’s ruler in September, is the task of overcoming gridlock on debt legislation to tackle a liquidity crisis.
Low oil prices and COVID-19 have strained state finances and led to the rapid depletion of available cash reserves.
Parliament has repeatedly blocked the bill that would allow Kuwait to tap international debt markets.
Kuwait is due to hold parliamentary elections on Dec. 5.
The Gulf state, which has an outspoken parliament, sees frequent clashes between cabinet and parliament, leading to government reshuffles and dissolutions of parliament that hinder investment and reform efforts.