Iraq’s PM to attend Parliament’s session Saturday to explain his Cabinet’s trimming

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Iraq’s Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, shall attend the Parliament’s session next Saturday, to explain his plan to trim down his Cabinet, in order to improve his government’s achievements, supported by the Parliament in initial,” the Parliament’s Rapporteur, Mohammed al-Khalidy, said on Monday.   “The Parliament shall invite Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, to discuss his government’s program and the message he addressed to the Parliament, regarding the trimming down of his Cabinet,” Khalidy told IraqiNews.com news agency, adding that “next Saturday shall be the day of Maliki’s attendance of the Parliament’s session.”   Iraq ’s Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, had called, in a message to the Parliament on June 23 rd last, for the trimming down of his Cabinet, reiterating the significance of changing the number of ministries.   The Iraqi Parliament had voted in initial on July 18 th on the trimming of the Cabinet, whilst a number of MPs called on the Prime Minister in that session to attend a Parliament session to discuss the mechanism of the trimming and the government’s program for voting.   The Parliament had announced in its July 17 th session its receipt of a message by Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, demanding the trimming down of his Cabinet from 43 to 29 ministries on two stages, confirming that the 1 st stage must cover all the State Ministries, with the exception of the Ministries of Parliament & Provinces Affairs and the Woman’s Affairs, whilst he pointed out that the number of his Cabinet’s ministers would be 30 posts, including the Prime Minister’s post and his Deputy Prime Ministers.   SKH (RT)     449