KUWAIT CITY: The ruler of the Gulf state of Kuwait Monday accepted the resignation of deputy premier Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah, a senior royal who quit following a dispute with the prime minister. “An emiri decree was issued accepting the resignation of Sheikh Ahmad,” who is also minister of housing and development, said state minister for cabinet affairs Ali Al-Rashed, cited by the official KUNA news agency. Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah was asked to oversee Sheikh Ahmad's duties until a new minister is appointed. No reason was given for Sheikh Ahmad's decision to quit, but local media have said he was locked in a power struggle with Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Mohammad al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, another senior royal. During a parliamentary session on May 31, MPs said to be close to the premier voted against a request by Sheikh Ahmad to refer a grilling against him to a parliamentary panel to investigate whether it breached the constitution. The panel ruled Saturday that his grilling, in which Sheikh Ahmad would be accused of corruption and mismanagement, was in line with the constitution and should be debated in parliament Tuesday. Sheikh Ahmad, 48, was first appointed to the cabinet in 2001 as information minister. In 2003, he was moved to the energy portfolio and two years later was elected president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries. In July 2006, Sheikh Ahmad was dropped from the cabinet following a showdown with the opposition in parliament, but he was reinstated three years later and given the post of deputy premier for economic affairs. For the past two years, Sheikh Ahmad has been responsible for implementing a $112-billion four-year development plan of mega projects to transform Kuwait into a regional financial and trade hub.
