Meteorological Department has issued an alert about unstable weather, stating northwesterly winds may exceed 60 kilometers per hour, reducing visibility to less than 1,000 meters in some areas, especially open areas.

According to a local Arabic newspaper, the sea will be rough with waves exceeding seven feet high.

Exercise caution when venturing outdoors, according to the authorities.

Some roads in Kuwait came to a standstill, while others were quite busy as students in public schools and universities began their school year. Due to the current circumstances, the Interior Ministry urged road users to be patient and follow traffic laws ‘to the T’ to prevent accidents and mishaps

Meanwhile Kindergarten and elementary school students commenced their educational journey Sunday with spirited determination. The students appeared joyous as they approach the first post pandemic restrictions school year. (KUNA)

 Sixty expats are to be deported as they were caught operating illegal taxi service using their own personal cars. They were caught transporting passengers from and to Kuwait Airport. They were observed by traffic patrols for giving illegal taxi service for arrivals and departures from airports entrances and exits. These instructions came directly from the Director General of the General Traffic Department, Major General Yousef Al-Khadda

Most of the arrested violators were Indian, Bangladeshi and Egyptian expats. They were referred to the deportation center and are being ready to be deported back to their respective countries. Many complaints were received from travelers about cheating and extortion from these vehicle drivers who don’t have a license of a taxi driver.

 The Public Authority for Manpower asked its counterpart in the Arab Republic of Egypt to verify the integrity of the contracts that precede the recruitment process to Kuwait in coordination with the concerned authorities in the country and to abide by Kuwaiti legislation and regulations to limit any violations resulting from non-compliance, which ends with the deportation of violating workers, reports Al- Qabas daily. The acting director general of the authority, Dr. Mubarak Al-Azmi, was speaking on the sidelines of heading the Kuwaiti delegation to the 48th session of the Arab Conference, which concluded recently in Cairo. He said that Kuwait has called on the Egyptian Ministry of Labor to focus on the role of recruitment agencies and the role of government agencies in monitoring their work to ensure the protection of workers’ rights before they travel and to ensure the health and safety of recruitment procedures.

Al-Azmi stated the Kuwaiti delegation stressed, during several meetings it held with labor ministers of Arab countries, the protection guaranteed by Kuwaiti laws for the rights of all workers of different nationalities, focusing on the importance of the role played by labor-sending countries in monitoring recruitment agencies and adhering to recruitment requirements. Al-Azmi denied that the Kuwaiti delegation had told the media in Egypt or other labor delegations participating in the conference about the intention to activate an electronic link with Egypt or other countries regarding the mechanism of recruitment of workers, stressing that there are local laws and regulations in force that regulate the process of issuing work permits, pointing out the delegation is committed to authorizing such events through official channels approved by the state.

Fitch Solutions expects Kuwait to speed up its imports of medicines to ensure that they can be obtained on a regular basis, noting that the country’s pharmaceutical market depends almost entirely on imports, and the Ministry of Health has recently increased its imports of medicines and necessary medical supplies, due to the shortage which the country encountered recently, reports Al-Qabas daily.

A report by Fitch said cancer drugs constitute the most prominent category of products that Kuwait intends to import, as several local reports recently revealed treatment delays of up to two months, forcing many patients to travel to neighboring countries to receive treatment. The report stated that the Ministry of Health obtained, earlier this month, approvals to spend 6.6 million dinars on medicines for cancer, diabetes and respiratory diseases, as these imports constitute part of health care investments by the ministry in the wake of the outbreak of the corona pandemic.

Increase
The agency’s report expected an increase in medicine imports to Kuwait until 2026 at an annual rate of 3.6% in the local currency, to reach about 597 million dinars ($1.8 billion), knowing that economic coordination between the Gulf countries may enhance the local production of medicines, but not in a way that meets the increasing demand until 2026.

However, a combination of geopolitical factors and reasons related to the pharmaceutical industries will continue to constitute an obstacle to the strong growth of the pharmaceutical sector in Kuwait, although our expectations show that spending on medicines in the country may achieve a moderate annual growth rate of 3.6% over the next 10 years.

Fitch Solutions suggested that the pharmaceutical market will continue to be in turmoil in Kuwait due to geopolitical variables and variables related to the industry itself, explaining that most companies seeking to import and export medicines will face different challenges. The agency went on to say, the export of goods from Kuwait abroad takes a long time and is financially costly due to strict border procedures, and the geographical location of Kuwait contributes to the difficulty of supply chains reaching global shipping lines. In addition, to the high levels of corruption in the country increase the operating costs and legal risks for many companies that intend to establish commercial lines with Kuwait.

The Fitch Solutions report confirmed that the pharmaceutical industry in Kuwait faces several regulatory and bureaucratic obstacles, delays in payments, as well as regulatory changes related to pharmacies, noting cases of mismanagement and corruption in the sector, including inappropriate storage of medicines and expired and damaged products.

​The Public Authority for Civil Information has warned citizens and residents of people impersonating the authority’s employees through phone calls requesting personal data.

In a press statement today PACI called on everyone not to respond to these calls, saying the authority not request an update of any personal data via phone calls, reports a local Arabic daily.

The Kuwait Airways Corporations said for the year 2022 the airline is ranked 76th among the top 100 airlines around the world for the year 2022 after it was ranked 179th globally in 2021, reports Al-Rai daily.

This is according to the annual assessment by “Skytrax” website. The KAC stated achieving the 76th position is a reflection of the plans set by the company’s board of directors and executive management, and the efforts of employees in all operational and support sectors to reach the best levels of quality in work and service.

Kuwait’s Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) affirmed on Thursday that workers’ rights are protected by law, and focuses on the importance of the exporting countries to abide by their rules. This came in a statement by the Acting Director General of the Public Authority of Manpower Dr. Mubarak Al-Azmi on the sidelines of the 48th conference for Arab Labor in Cairo.

Al-Azmi noted that the authority asked its counterpart in Egypt to verify the integrity of the contracts that precede the recruitment process to Kuwait in coordination with the concerned authorities in the country and to abide by Kuwaiti legislation and regulations “to reduce any violations that end with deporting workers.” The authority called on the Egyptian Ministry of Labor to focus on the role of recruitment agencies and the role of the government in monitoring the procedures “to ensure the protection of workers’ rights before they travel and to ensure the health and safety of the recruits, he pointed out. (KUNA)

Expatriates coming to Kuwait should be ‘tested’ as part of plans to reform the demographic imbalance, the Director- General of the Public Authority for Manpower, Dr. Mubarak Al-Azmi, said the same will be done in cooperation with the Kuwait Society of Engineers (KSE) for related professions to ensure the applicant has good skills and knowledge about the job he is hired for before a visa is issued.

Al Qabas quoting responsible sources, said the tests by the KSE will be for new arrivals as a first stage, and then will include those who want to renew their work permits inside the country.

The sources confirmed that the tests will be a condition for the renewal and issuance/renewal of work permits, and in the event of failure the person will be given a grace period to leave the country.

Expats who were born recently while their mothers were on summer vacation face a severe humanitarian problem by not being able to bring their newborn babies home.

As a result, the Ministry of Interior has banned the issuance of all kinds of visas until further notice, including family dependent visas and visit visas.

During their interview with a local Arabic daily, these parents pleaded with the Ministry of Interior to exempt the newborns from its decision because of the humanitarian aspect, arguing that it threatens family reunification. Approximately 400 transactions have been submitted to the competent department to exclude the newborns from the decision stating that most of them are teachers.

The Engineering Audit and Follow-up Department of the Farwaniya Municipality announced power supply has been cut for 8 properties in violation of Ministerial Resolution No. 57/2019 in the Omariya area, in coordination and cooperation with the Judicial Enforcement Team at the Ministry of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy, and with the security support of the Ministry of Interior, reports Al-Jarida daily.

The Director of the Engineering Audit and Follow-up Department, Eng. Saeed Al-Azmi, in a press statement, said that the power was cut off and issuing a warning and making the owners sign a pledge to vacate two properties of bachelors in cooperation with the concerned authorities, stressing that the supervisory team in the Engineering Audit and Follow-up Department was following complaints from Al-Omariya residents who said bachelors were staying in a number of model residential area and demanded legal action.

For his part, Eng Khaled Al-Osaimi indicated that field tours are continuing to monitor all violating properties, take legal measures, and cut off power supply in cooperation with the concerned authorities, to limit the spread of the phenomenon of singles living in private and model housing areas and called on real estate owners to cooperate with the Municipal supervisory teams and the concerned authorities during their field tours to avoid legal accountability.

A presence of large shark roaming near Sabah Al Ahmad sea area has triggered a warning to beachgoers to take necessary precautions as coordination’s has been made with the concerned authorities to take necessary measures.

Kuwait Airways Company confirmed that it is moving steadily towards Kuwaitization of jobs, and said the board of directors is working to Kuwaitize all senior positions in the company in the near future, reports Al-Rai daily. The executive management is working to double the percentage of national workers during the next 3 years.

In a statement, Kuwait Airways revealed a project has been signed with specialized companies to study and evaluate the salary scale and benefits for colleagues in the company, and to provide and implement the opinion, and it includes all jobs outside and inside Kuwait, in the interest of national cadres.

The statement said in implementation of the strategic plan pursued by the Board of Directors and the Executive Management since they assumed their duties at Kuwait Airways Company, with a comprehensive development and modernization of the adopted systems and their transformation into digital services to reduce the documentary cycle and save the trouble and exert efforts to comprehensively modernize all of these systems and creating a comprehensive “FIORI” system through which the employee can obtain many of the services he needs through the website and electronic e-rebate application, including, but not limited to among others. It is now easy to obtain these services and save time in order to upgraded services that contribute to the development of the work system within the company, encouraging young and highly qualified citizens.

The company said in a statement that in order to complement the efforts to create a suitable working atmosphere for all the employees, obstacles and difficulties facing the work team should be overcome, creating a spirit of competition and innovation. In addition, the company has launched a project with specialized companies to study and evaluate the salary scale and benefits for colleagues in the company and to provide feedback and implement it. This includes all jobs inside and outside Kuwait. The Board of Directors and the Executive Management added in a statement that they are keeping in mind Civil Service Commission Resolution No. 11 of 2017, stressing that officials are moving forward in the Kuwaitization of jobs in order to raise the Kuwaitization rate in the coming years, as the company views with great importance the national interest.

The Ministry of Interior is facing a major challenge with the increasing number of expats who are in deportation centers. Currently their number has reached 3,500. They cannot leave as one of the companies contracts with the ministry has expired.

The contract expired in mid August and its renewal is still under process at the financial department of the Ministry of Interior which is waiting for approval. The deportation department no longer receives any deportees without an air ticket.

The continuous security campaigns have led to an increase in the number of violators being arrested. The company which is responsible for deportees tickets, generally collects the amount from the sponsor since the contract is not renewed it is not possible to carry on their duties of collecting tickets except for those who pay for their own tickets. Currently 1,300 are in deportation centers, 1,500 in security directorates and police stations, 400 in residence investigation departments, 200 in criminal investigation and 100 in Drug Enforcement Department.

Their presence in detention centers require additional budget in providing food, water, medical care etc.

The sources stated that currently the deportees can pay for their own ticket and leave the country, while those who cannot pay are waiting in prison until the contract is signed between the company and the ministry, reports Al Rai. In the past when a contract was valid, any arrests were made, they were deported immediately and sponsors used to pay the ticket value or their accounts were frozen till they had paid the value of the ticket.

As part of the Kuwaiti parliamentary election, the General Administration of Private Education suspended all of its affiliated schools, including private schools, on Thursday, September 29.

In accordance with Cabinet Decree 147 (2022), new members of the National Assembly will be elected on September 29.

Three days after the implementation of Kuwait Municipality’s decision to oblige shops, groceries and restaurants in private residential areas to close at 12:00 midnight, the Municipality teams continue to monitor these establishments in order to ensure strict compliance with the directive, reports Al-Rai daily quoting a reliable sources.

According to the source, the first step against those proven to have violated the directive is the issuance of a warning, followed by closure of the establishment if the violation continues. He said Director General of the Municipality Engr Ahmed Al-Manfouhi has instructed the audit and follow-up departments in the branches to strictly implement the decision, indicating the abovementioned establishments are allowed to open at 6:00 am.

The source explained that the Municipality is an organized body that issues decisions as per the request of the concerned authorities, especially the Ministry of Interior. Therefore, any request will be approved immediately; particularly those aimed at ensuring the security and safety of citizens and expatriates, the source added. In a related development, a security source told the daily that the ministry’s role in this regard is to provide assistance if requested; as the closure of shops and restaurants is beyond its jurisdiction.

The Security authorities imposed a surprise campaign in the Salmiya area around Qatar street. All the exit and entrance areas were guarded by security patrols to apprehend criminals and residence violators.

The campaign was supervised by the Assistant Director-General for the Education Sector, Major General Sheikh Fawaz Al-Khaled, and the Assistant Director-General for Coordination and Follow-up, Brigadier General Khaled Mahmoud, in the presence and support of the head of the joint committee team Muhammad Galoud. 

The campaign resulted in the arrest of an Indian expat with 35 locally distilled alcohol, dozens of traffic violations were issued along with a number of residence violators and street vendors where their sponsors have been blocked to carry out any transactions.

 The recent joint meeting between representatives of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) and Ministry of Interior resulted in a set of regulations aimed at controlling the labor market, eliminating marginal workers, and punishing those proven to have violated labor and residency laws, reports Al- Qabas daily quoting sources.

Sources revealed the representatives agreed on revising the conditions for recruiting workers in delivery companies and restaurants in order to adopt a clearer and stricter mechanism. Sources said the representatives also discussed procedures for food trucks and other commercial activities on wheels, especially the delivery of items.

Sources added inspectors from the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition, PAM and the General Traffic Department in the ministry are currently conducting a comprehensive inspection campaign to ensure strict compliance with the health regulations, particularly the mode of transporting foodstuff.

The campaign will be conducted on a daily basis in commercial areas, restaurants, delivery companies and motorcycles used and it will be ensured that the driver of the vehicle possesses a work permit, a “health card” and a valid civil card, whose residence has to be on the same employer. If a worker is arrested outside his/her workplace, they will be referred to the Residency Affairs Investigations Department to complete the procedures that will end with deportation from Kuwait

According to the Ministry of Interior, the requirements for delivery vehicles will take effect on October 1.

According to authorities, those violating these conditions will have their licenses suspended and legal action taken against them.

Meteorologist Fahd Al-Otaibi stated that there are chances of light rain in some areas of Kuwait starting from Wednesday until Friday.

Al-Otaibi expected that there will be wind activity during the next Saturday and Sunday, with dust interspersed with it.