KUWAIT: Five lawmakers yesterday submitted a draft law to amend the real estate ownership law to open the door for expatriates to own apartments in Kuwait, which is currently restricted to Arabs with special permits. The bill, submitted by MPs Rola Dashti, Mukhled Al-Azemi, Saleh Ashour, Ghanem Al-Azemi and Salwa Al-Jassar, calls for allowing all expatriates regardless of nationality to own one apartment of an area not exceeding 350 sq m.

The MPs said that real estate ownership law of 1979 allows only Arab nationals to own apartments in the country after an Amiri decree which should be preceded by a Cabinet decision. They added that with the development of economic activities in the country and plans to transform Kuwait into a financial and trade hub, it has become necessary to amend legislation that govern real estate ownership in such a way to allow all expatriates to own their own flats. The amendment however allows expatriates to own only one apartment that should be less than 350 sq m in area, provided that their countries allow Kuwaiti nationals to own properties.

In another development, the National Assembly yesterday approved in the first reading two amendments to the sports law to avoid Kuwaiti sports activities from being suspended by the International Olympic Committee. The first amendment states that Kuwait respects all laws and rules of the International Olympic Committee while the second stipulates the establishment of a special tribunal to look into sport disputes in the country.

The IOC has warned that unless Kuwait amends its laws to be compatible with international laws, the committee will suspend Kuwait Olympic Committee's membership, which amounts to banning all Kuwaiti sports participation in any event outside of the country. The law was passed in the first reading by 40 MPs in favour and 12 against. MPs agreed to hold the second and final reading in a special session to be determined later.

MPs who opposed the law said that the first amendment undermines Kuwait's independence and sovereignty over its laws. They said that Kuwait's sports arena has been polluted with internal fighting between people with vested interests, charging a number of senior ruling family members of leading such infighting. Others said that the international sports bodies have been fed with false information by certain quarters in Kuwait, which eventually led to a number of strange actions and decisions by those bodies.

MP Adel Al-Saraawi bluntly blamed deputy premier for economic affairs Sheikh Ahmad Fahd Al-Sabah and his brother Sheikh Talal of being responsible for the sports problems and called for a high level investigation.

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