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Kuwait parliament considers loan rescheduling bill |
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Wednesday, 23 December 2009 19:31 |
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KUWAIT, Dec 23 (KUNA) -- The Kuwaiti National Assembly (parliament) on Wednesday discussed a draft law on citizens' overdue debts to banks and investment firms.
During the debate, the government objected to a report by the parliamentary financial and economic committee on the suggested bill in a statement read out by Minister of Finance Mustafa Al-Shimali.
He blasted the report as "seriously flawed and containing constitutional and procedural breaches".
However, he said cooperation between the government and the assembly is an "inescapable necessity that is imposed by family coherence among the sons of this nation, the rulers and the ruled alike".
By establishing a fund for defaulters, the Kuwaiti government only wants to help citizens pay off their consumer loans and installments to banks and investment firms in line with practical and realistic rules, the minister said.
But, the government, by using this approach, also wants to ensure justice and equality enshrined in the country's constitution, he added.
He regretted that the parliamentary committee, in its report, had failed to point to relevant governmental proposals on defaulters.
The bill does not ensure the principle of justice between debtors and non-debtors, and even between debtors themselves and prospective borrowers, the minister argued.
Moreover, the draft law suggests that all, or at least most, borrowers have defaulted to repay their loans, something which is far from being real, he said. - Kuna
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