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.

Kuwait’s National Seismic Network (KNSN) at Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) on Tuesday reported a 3.3 magnitude reading in the Southeastern region of Al-Abdali.

Directing KNSN’s operational body Dr. Abdullah Al-Enzi stated an earthquake took place at 1:46pm (GMT +3), estimated to have occurred 7km underground (KUNA)

The Ministry of Health has obtained approval from the regulatory authorities to directly import medicines for various types of cancer from manufacturers, reports Al-Qabas daily quoting sources. Sources revealed these medicines will be distributed to Hussein Makki Al-Juma Center for Specialized Surgery and other centers affiliated with Kuwait Cancer Control Center, indicating the contract value is KD 7.6 million. Sources affirmed the ministry is keen on regulating the distribution of medicines to patients, especially those suffering from cancer and chronic diseases. Sources added the Central Agency for Public Tenders (CAPT) also approved the purchase of medical supplies for conducting tests to detect AIDS and hepatitis viruses by using the nucleic acid technology, as the Central Blood Bank laboratory needs such supplies. Sources disclosed the cost of these supplies is estimated at KD 1.9 million. Sources explained these supplies are needed to ensure the safety of blood donation.

Purchase
Sources went on to say that the ministry will also purchase supplies used in X-rays at a cost of KD 927,000 and medicines for high blood sugar at a cost of KD 1.7 million. According to sources, the regulatory authorities approved as well the ministry’s request to float a tender to support, develop and operate the electronic medical file system at Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital in the next phase, taking into consideration the upcoming transfer of citizens using services at Adan and Mubarak Al- Kabeer hospitals to Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital. Meanwhile, the Environment Public Authority (EPA) has launched the ‘Retrieve Expired and Unused Medicines’ campaign, reports Al-Anba daily. In a statement to the daily, Director of the Public Relations and Media Department Sheikha Al-Ibrahim Proposal sent to amend Cabinet’s resolution No. 867/2001 on collecting in-kind donations KUWAIT CITY, Sept 20: The Minister of Commerce and Industry and the Minister of Social Affairs and Community Development Fahad Al- Shariaan submitted a proposal to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers with a request to reconsider and amend the Cabinet resolution No. 867/2001, reports Al-Anba daily.

The financial and administrative affairs, planning and administrative development sectors of the Ministry of Social Affairs have completed the first phase of launching the automated system for registering employees to obtain sick and annual leaves and permission, via what is known as the “electronic job file”, to address any shortcomings or errors that occurred previously and caused fi- nancial or moral harm to the concerned party, reports Al-Jarida daily.

Reliable sources from the ministry said at this stage only the employees working in the Ministries Complex are included, and the Administrative Affairs Administration has begun to receive leaves, sicknesses and permissions for employees automatically through the “application” explaining that this will be followed by four other stages. The departments outside the complex include: the departments of social care homes, the family care department employees (external units), the social development center employees, and the cooperative societies (the cooperative supervision and inspection department employees).

The sources pointed out that the new service allows the employee to submit a regular or sick leave or permission, after entering a user name and password that belongs to him, and then submit his request to the “administrative affairs” immediately, without having to wait several days for the administration to receive these requests. The ministry noted that many employees, especially those working in external departments and units (outside the ministries complex), were subjected to injustice and salary deductions and in some cases their pay check was withheld as a result of interruption from work and failure to prove attendance and departure through the “fingerprint” system due to the delay in the arrival of their leave requests to the competent department, in addition to some of them being affected by non-receipt of requests for permission when the 30% of attendance and leave, on the basis of which the annual evaluations of employees which is why they were affected during evaluation of their job performance.

The sources added that “the computer department in the administrative, planning and development sector is currently working to launch the rest of the stages in succession, to be completed in full to cover all the ministry’s employees within 3 months maximum, so that all employees can benefit from it, especially as it will be the gateway to transform “administrative affairs” into a smart department by eliminating paper transactions and expanding the use of automated systems, in order to facilitate employees and protect their rights.”

The Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) has activated the absenteeism registration system for expatriates who hold work permits through the ‘Ashal’ automated platform, reports Al- Qabas daily quoting sources.

Sources explained this is aimed at tracking down workers with unjustified absences, determining reasons behind absenteeism and addressing the problem. Sources revealed the Inspection Department at PAM is currently looking into about 1,000 absenteeism reports. Sources affirmed the relevant law allows the worker to object within two months from the date of registering the complaint against him.

Once the deadline ends and the worker does not take such step, the file will be referred to the Residency Affairs Investigation Department to take the necessary legal measures; such as registering the absences in the records of the Ministry of Interior and deportation, sources added.

There have been attempts by the parliament and the government to contain domestic violence, and violence against women in particular, which resulted in submitting a report to the National Assembly to approve a law that constituted a kind of buffer to put an end to this phenomenon of violence against women, reports Al-Qabas daily.

Official reports revealed that a majority of cases of domestic violence that were examined by forensic doctors in the Forensic Medicine Department of the Ministry of Interior until 2020 were against women and children who were subjected to assaults.

 A large number of business owners and private companies have complained about a glitch in the automated system of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) – rejecting work permit applications submitted from abroad without giving any reason, just a popup message that “the transaction was rejected based on the rejection of attachments,” reports Al-Jarida daily.

Some business owners told the daily that when their representatives went to the labor departments to know the reasons behind the rejection, it appeared in a printout that the license was suspended for lack of a valid address. They said this happened even if they completed several transactions in the past hours. They asked the director of PAM to intervene and immediately solve this problem, which led to the suspension of their transactions

Following a three-year hiatus, the Ministry of Information plans to resume services on “Day of the Seas” (Yom Al-Bahar), by issuing tenders for five investment sites, aimed at revitalizing the heritage site and creating a recreational environment and social outlet for families.

In addition, the sources stated that the village lacked public services upon opening, as well as differences between the ministry and the contractor.

A decision was issued by Abdul Rahman Al-Mutairi, Minister of Information and Culture and Minister of State for Youth Affairs, granting judicial seizure powers to 53 employees of the Ministry of Information.

In the decision, it was stated that the employees would be responsible for proving and controlling violations of the law.

Investments will be available at the following sites

- A shop selling traditional Kuwaiti sweets

- A traditional Kuwaiti food restaurant

- General Restaurant

- Tea and coffee shop

- Popular restaurant and café

A decision will be issued by the Ministry of Interior raising the salary ceiling for family/dependent visas (Article 22) to KD 800. Currently the salary ceiling is KD 500. This decision will apply to all expats who hold Visa Article 17 and 18 (Private and Government).

A work permit or any proof of a salary of KD 800 is required for expats to obtain a dependent/family visa. Additional income earned documents or proof will not be entertained.

MOI has implemented a new rule that seeks to control the demographic structure in Kuwait, permitting only families with high incomes to provide a satisfactory standard of living for their families, so that their wives won't have to look for jobs on the local market because it is overcrowded, reports Al Anba. This decision will cover all those who have entered Kuwait recently on Article 22 for wives and children under 16 yrs of age.

Newly-launched website Wiki Kuwait features information about Kuwait in Arabic language, according to an Arab daily. It is an online encyclopedia that includes various sections covering all areas of interest for those who reside in Kuwait, whether citizens, expatriates and tourists.

To deliver digital content, a team of administrators, writers, editors, and proofreaders, as well as designers, translators, and programmers, works together. According to the report, the site takes into account the customs followed in the country, and adheres to proposals, selects its language, takes into account cultural differences and ages, answers questions and meets visitors’ needs by keeping pace with the latest updates in the world of digital content.

A Kuwait prayer times service is also available on the site, which shows the timing of the five daily prayers. It also includes the Kuwaiti dinar exchange rate, the gold price in Kuwait, and the weather service in the country, all of which are services that update on a daily and periodic basis. The daily also mentioned that information and articles on the site are subject to change, stating that a team of creative writers and editors has been updating its content.

Furthermore, Wiki Kuwait is expected to be a site that is accessible to everyone. There is a special section for government services and its branches and institutions, a special section for education and its subsections dealing with Kuwaiti universities and schools, as well as general knowledge for students, teachers and parents, as well as many other sections. History, geography, economy, Kuwaiti companies, and many other topics are covered in some sections.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry inspectors issued a report of a commercial fraud for a restaurant in Salmiya area using expired foodstuff and preparing meals for its customers. A large quantity of rotten food and expired meals packed and ready for distribution were confiscated with the cooperation of the General Authority for Food and Nutrition. The meat confiscated had no country of origin. Legal procedures were completed by the inspection team.

The Indian Ambassador to Kuwait HE Sibi George has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Japan, according to a press release issued by the External Affairs Ministry of India on Sept 12, 2022. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

HE Sibi George arrived in Kuwait in August 2020 from Switzerland when the world was in turmoil following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and was very successful during his tenure in Kuwait to rally the Indian community not only to fight the virus in Kuwait but help contain the pandemic back home with Kuwait’s help and solve the issues of the Indian Diaspora by directly interacting with the community during Open House events. He was very instrumental in further improving the already excellent Kuwait-India relations by meeting senior Kuwait government officials to put the Kuwait-India ties on a highest pedestal