Kuwait cabinet quits after disputes in parliament

Kuwait's prime minister submitted his resignation Thursday along with his cabinet, officials said, amid infighting between ministers and criticism of their performance.

Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Sabah "submitted the resignation of the cabinet to the emir... in order to allow for a cabinet reshuffle," government spokesman Tareq al-Mazrem said in a statement.

Minister of Finance Nayef al-Hajraf and Minister of Public Works Jenan Bushehri resigned this month, with both under fire for alleged mismanagement of their portfolios and poor use of public funds.

On Tuesday, parliament also grilled Interior Minister Sheikh Khaled al-Jarrah Al-Sabah, a member of the ruling family, over similar accusations.

Independent MP Saleh Ashour told AFP that as well as those criticisms, disputes between ministers over the current composition of the cabinet had also triggered the resignation.

Parliament speaker Marzouk al-Ghanem told reporters Thursday that "a large group of MPs believe that the problem lies in the government team because it is not homogeneous."

Kuwait is the only Persian Gulf state with a fully elected parliament and the government is controlled by the ruling family.

SS