MINISTER SHARAR NOT THOROUGHLY COOKED: ANOTHER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KUWAIT 004219 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ARPI E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/07/2014 TAGS: PGOV EFIN KU SUBJECT: MINISTER SHARAR NOT THOROUGHLY COOKED: ANOTHER GRILLING VICTORY FOR PM SHAYKH SABAH'S CABINET Classified By: Ambassador Richard LeBaron for Reason 1.4 (b) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Prime Minister Shaykh Sabah's cabinet survived yet another Parliamentary grilling. Mohammed Dhaifallah Sharar, (Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs),survived a grilling launched by two Members of Parliament (MPs) on December 6 on charges of corruption in state municipalities and public authorities under his control. Although some of the charges appeared damaging to Sharar's case, he managed to produce plausible explanations and side-step more difficult inquiries, all the while characterizing himself as a champion of anti-corruption initiatives. By the end of the inquiry, however, there appeared to be enough MPs to support a motion of no-confidence against the Minister of State. Nevertheless, in the interest of comity and cooperation, the National Assembly accepted a proposal to initiate a probe into specific cases of corruption raised by the grilling MPs and to drop its charges against Sharar. Information Minister Mohammed Abulhassan is the next minister likely to be grilled. End Summary. Sharar on the Defensive -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, and Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Mohammed Dhaifallah Sharar was accused on December 6 of mismanagement and negligence in a variety of corruption charges against the Kuwait Municipality, the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR),and the Civil Service Commission. MP Ahmed Al-Mulaifi, an independent liberal and lawyer, began the eight hour grilling with charges that the Kuwait Municipality lost KD 77 million (USD 260 million) through negligence under Sharar's watch. (Note: MPs have the right to "grill" or inquire into the activities of any government minister including the Prime Minister and throughout the last 40 years have done so regularly. The process can lead to a call for a vote of no-confidence in the minister upon a written request signed by 10 MPs. The no-confidence vote requires only a simple majority of the members to pass, in which case the minister is required to resign. To avoid embarrassing ministers, the Amir can decide to dissolve the Assembly and call new elections. End Note.) MP Ali Al-Rashid, an independent liberal and former judge, later launched an even more scathing attack against Sharar holding him responsible for a string of corrupt activities at the PAAAFR, including: contract forging, illegal distribution of lands and farms, unequal disbursement of subsidies to farmers, personal profiteering by the PAAAFR Chairman, and unethically profiting from contracts for the multi-colored artificial palm trees placed alongside Kuwaiti roads which were deemed to be "unattractive" and "in bad taste." Deft Rebuttal and Cooperative Compromise -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Sharar began his rebuttal by cataloging his efforts to fight corruption in the State bodies that report to him saying "credit should go to me and I should be thanked for what I did and not criticized and grilled." Through a combination of denials, buck-passing, claims of ignorance, and some legitimate efforts to defend his actions, Sharar managed to side-step most of the accusations with relative ease. On a few of the more egregious examples of corruption, including cases involving forged contracts and preferential salaries given to Municipality employees, Sharar agreed to investigate the allegations leveled against him. ¶4. (SBU) MPs Adel Al-Sarawi, Nasser Al-Sane, and Ahmed Saadoun spoke in favor of the grilling effort and MPs Hussein Mezyed, Salah Khorshid, and Ali-Deqbasi vocally opposed it. At the end of the grilling, MP Ali Al-Rashed said he had the 10 MP signatures necessary for a motion of no-confidence -- the passage of which would lead to a call for a vote of no-confidence in a future session -- but in the interest of Parliamentary-GOK cooperation, and at the urging of National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi, the Assembly agreed to cease its proceedings against Sharar and instead, launch a probe into some of the more blatant cases of alleged corruption. A report from the probe is expected to be completed within three months. Next Minister To be Grilled -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The minister next likely to be grilled is Information Minister Mohammed Abulhassan. This charge is being led by the Salafis in the Islamic Bloc and is likely to come before Eid Al-Adha in late January. The accusations against Abulhassan include permitting "indecent" concerts, failure to increase the amount of religious television programs, irregularities in Ministry employee promotion, general moral corruption, and a recent controversy over the airing of a program glorifying Yasser ARAFAT after his death. Comment -------------- ¶6. (C) Despite the illumination of clear mismanagement within some Kuwaiti public organizations, few believed that Sharar was in any danger of being removed from the Cabinet. In addition to unquestioned support from PM Shaykh Sabah, Sharar had the backing of some Islamists and bedouin from rural tribes. (Note: Sharar is from the Mutairi tribe -- a sizable tribe in Kuwait known to include large numbers of bedouin and Islamists -- and is known to have some Islamist leanings. End Note.) There was no speculation that PM Shaykh Sabah undertook any behind-the-scenes arm-twisting in support of his Minister, and, by all accounts, none was necessary. ¶7. (C) PM Shaykh Sabah appears perfectly content to let his ministers ride out the storm of grillings. None of the ministers being threatened appear particularly susceptible to being removed from office. Further, the very act of grilling is touted as a genuinely democratic and transparent process giving the Prime Minister the best of both worlds--promoting the image of a vibrant and active democracy while keeping his chosen cabinet unchanged. LEBARON