A total of 19 lawmakers urged His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to meet the two-week deadline for the formation of the new government as per the Constitution. In a joint statement Wednesday, these lawmakers warned that they will use their constitutional tools to push for political questioning in case the new government is formed beyond the specified period. They stressed the need to adhere to the Constitution as it is the foundation of cooperation and a way to settle disputes.

The lawmakers who signed the statement are Muhammad Al-Mutair, Adel Al-Damkhi, Abdulwahab Al-Essa, Khalid Al-Tamar, Fares Al-Otaibi, Mubarak Al- Tasha, Abdullah Al- Anbaie, Thamer Al-Suwait, Osama Al- Shaheen, Hamad Al-Matar, Abdulaziz Al- Saqaabi, Khalid Al-Otaibi, Muhammad Al- Hewaila, Muhammad Hayef Al-Mutairi, Hamad Al- Obaid, Mubarak Al-Hajraf, Muhammad Al-Mahan, Marzouq Al-Hebeini and Al- SaifiMubarak Al-Saifi. Meanwhile, MP Khalil Al-Saleh submitted a proposal to grant incentive equal to one month salary to Kuwaitis working in the public sector and retirees on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. He explained this will ease the financial burdens of families and help them cope with rising prices.

On the other hand, MP Hani Shams forwarded queries to Minister of Electricity, Water and Renewable Energy Amani Bugamaz about the recent decision to change the working hours, which prompted the workers to protest. He wants to know why the protesting workers were interrogated. He also demanded for a copy of the decision.

MP Falah Al-Hajri asked Minister of Justice, Endowments and Islamic Affairs and State Minister for Integrity Promotion Abdulaziz Majed Al-Majed if it is true that the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs has given up its seat in the Board of Directors of Kuwait Finance House (KFH). If yes, is this part of the duties of a caretaker minister? He inquired if the minister has the right to take such action and if the government approved it. He also requested for a list of violations recorded by the Recruitment Department like the illegal appointments, steps taken regarding the violations, comments and violations recorded by the State Audit Bureau (SAB) against the Ministry of Justice, Endowments and Islamic Affairs since 2020 till date and measures taken. MP Muhannad Al-Sayer forwarded queries to all ministers about Civil Service Commission (CSC) resolution number 35/1992 on giving supervisory positions like the heads of offices and secretaries of ministers only to Kuwaitis. He wants to know the number of expatriates occupying such positions in every ministry and subsidiary institutions.

MP Thamer Al-Suwait asked Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Barrak Al-Sheetan to provide him with the names, qualifications, salaries and allowances of the members of the Legal Affairs Committee at the Council of Ministers; agenda and achievements of the committee in the previous year; and the recommendations and reports it has presented since 2019 till date. MP Jenan Bu Shehri asked the finance minister to provide her with copies of the report of SAB on the enterprises financed by the National Fund for Small and Medium Enterprises and correspondences between the fund and SAB on the latter’s request for a reply to its report dated Dec 26, 2022 within one month. She wants to know if the Board of Directors of the fund discussed the report, members of the technical committee tasked to evaluate the enterprises registered in the fund since its establishment till date, and action taken regarding the violations included in the report of SAB like the forgery of official documents.

MP Saoud Al-Asfour forwarded queries to State Minister for National Assembly Affairs, Housing and Urban Development Ammar Al- Ajmi about the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) unit tasked to oversee Incheon International Company, which operates Terminal Four at Kuwait International Airport as per the contract signed by the DGCA and Incheon Airport Company — the South Korean side. He cited the report of SAB that almost KD15 million has yet to be collected from Incheon Airport Company, so he inquired about the reasons behind the delayed collection; if the workers at Kuwait International Airport were trained by Incheon Airport Company as per the contract, and number of trained workers compared to the total number of workers. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff

In clarification of what is being said regarding the arrest of security company workers and one of the authority’s employees who receive fees for expediting the issuance of civil cards, the authority indicated that it had addressed the Ministry of Interior to make the necessary investigations to uncover the network based on information that reached the Public Authority for Civil Information through some visitors, reports Al-Jarida daily. The daily added, the liaison officers from PACI and the General Directorate of Investigation of the Ministry of Interior will work in coordination to collect the relevant information. These efforts culminated in the arrest of some employees working for the security company and one of the PACI employees, and they were referred to the Public Prosecution.

Meanwhile, PACI confirmed that there is no fraud or forgery in any of the transactions, but only the urgency of issuing and storing cards through the authority available to the accused employee who works in the production of civil cards. Note that since April 2020, during the pandemic, the authority has provided the digital ID and approved alternative to the civil card through the “My Identity” application, in accordance with the decision of the Council of Ministers to consider the application, as all transactions are completed with government agencies and the private sector, in addition to traveling without the need to carry the original card, as 3 million users are said to have used the My Identity application.

The Public Authority for Manpower has recently introduced new provisions to make it easier for expats aged 60 or above, without university degrees, to obtain work permits. This includes allowing them to transfer to the private sector in case their employment relationship with the government sector ends, or they wish to move due to family or other types of residency circumstances. This change is expected to benefit around 8,000 residents.

According to Aseel Al-Mazyad, Director of the Public Relations and Media Department at the authority, amendments have been made to some of the rules and procedures for granting work permits to residents over 60 years old, reports Al Qabas. The new provisions now allow those expats who hold residency in some government and other sectors to transfer to the private sector, including individuals working in the government, public sector and institutions, dependent/family visas, investors or foreign partners in commercial or industrial activities, and expats under the rule of Article 24 of the executive regulations of the Foreigners’ Residence Law.

Al-Mazyad assured that the authority will continue to enforce its existing decisions, including the prohibition of transferring expatriate workers from certain sectors, such as prohibition of transferring domestic workers to the private sector.

According to Aseel Al-Mazyed, the Board of Directors of the Authority has approved that workers mentioned earlier can renew or transfer their work permit under the conditions stated in Article 37 before the amendment, with the same previous requirements, which include:

• An annual additional fee of 250 dinars for a work permit
• Possession of an irrevocable comprehensive health insurance policy
• With the exception of the same categories that were previously excluded from the drawing, they are the husbands and children of Kuwaiti women, wives of Kuwaitis, and Palestinians who hold documents.

A massive security operation led by the Ministry of Finance to evict Souq Sharq today, and its management was transferred from the current owner, the “National Real Estate Company,” to the Wafra Real Estate Company, affiliated with the Public Institute for Social Security, in anticipation of its auction.

To ensure that work was running to its fullest extent and that commercial activity did not stop when the Wafra Real Estate Company officially took over the main control room and management offices, maintenance, security and cleaning workers of the company attended the market during the handover process. Al-Qabas daily reports.

With the absence of a court order to hand over the market, the officials of "National Real Estate" refused to hand over the administrative offices, vowing to turn to the judiciary if stormed. According to Thamer Al-Mutawa, representative of the National Real Estate Company, the Ministry of Finance stormed Souq Sharq illegally.

According to him, it would be more useful to wait for the judgment of the judiciary before breaking the locks rather than breaking them.

The Ministry of Finance has expressed its commitment to the continuation of the Friday Market’s operations and welcoming visitors at the earliest possible opportunity.

The Ministry has stated that the contract with the investor for “investing and developing the Friday Market” ended on March 1, 2023. Currently, the Ministry is working towards promptly finalizing the necessary procedures for taking over and operating the site, as the market holds a special position among popular markets of its kind.

 Kuwait Municipality disclosed that Director General Ahmed Al-Manfouhi issued a directive to take all the necessary legal measures against the expatriate workers who were caught inappropriately dumping rubble in Al-Siddiq in preparation for their administrative deportation, reports Annahar daily.

In a press statement, the Municipality affirmed that the supervisory team presented an incident report on the violation as part of a field tour of construction and restoration sites in private housing areas to determine if the owners of real estate properties are committed to the regulations on safety at the workplace and proper disposal of construction waste within the framework of the campaign in this regard.

According to reliable sources, the delay in issuing 250,000 civil identity cards (Bitaqa) is due to a gang tampering with the Public Authority of Civil Information (PACI) deliberately at the behest of one of the PACI officials, reports Aljarida daily. The sources explained that the delay in issuing civil ID cards for expatriates is paralleled by unscrupulous measures to extort a sum of KD 50 from those who desperately need the civil ID at a time when civil IDs are issued for citizens and their servants within a few days in order not to attract heat on this crisis.

This is happening during a time in the 21st century when the technology train is moving at full speed, and in a country where technological applications have multiplied to facilitate transactions, and despite the loud voices of everyone on the need to eradicate corruption.

The sources went on to explain that the mastermind of that gang manages a group of security personnel in the PACI’s building who negotiate with the expatriate concerned to obtain a bribe from him and deliver it to the official. This official is aware of the extent of the weakness of this category. For this reason, he was keen to exclude the civil ID cards of citizens and their domestic workers from the delay; otherwise he would have been exposed early.

The waiting period for the families of expatriates for their cards exceeded nine months from the date of paying the service fees. The residencies of most of them expire before they receive their cards despite paying KD 5 for the issuance fees. The constant excuse given by the members of this gang is that there is pressure on the service, which forces those desperate to pay bribes to get their civil ID cards through the backdoor.

The spark of the idea of delay and exploitation of crises started with the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, which seems to have not ended yet in PACI, despite the presence of large quantities of cards ready for printing. The authority sent delegations to visit Poland, the headquarters of the parent company, to obtain the raw materials. However, waiting is still the master of the situation, and extortion of expatriates is still ongoing until further notice. In parallel, observers believe that this neurotic formation is not the disease itself but rather the symptom.

What brought the situation to its current state and prepared the institutional soil for the germination of this poisonous plant is the lax prestige of the state and the lack of oversight over officials, especially with regard to groups with wide wings that never take a no for an answer. Observers believe that the heresy of extortion and receiving bribes is only the beginning of a fire, which if expanded will burn morals, institutions and gnaw at the rules of society that distort Kuwaiti institutions before the irreversible happens.

Saudi Arabia said Monday it was depositing $5 billion in Turkey’s central bank, a potentially major boost as the country grapples with inflation and damage from last month’s earthquake ahead of presidential elections. Ahmed Al Khateeb, the Saudi tourism minister and board chairman of the Saudi Fund for Development, signed an agreement with Turkish central bank governor Sahap Kavcioglu “to make a significant $5 billion deposit”, the Saudi government said in a statement.

“This deposit is a testament to the close cooperation and historical ties that exist between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Turkey and its brotherly people,” the statement said. The decision, which will shore up Turkey’s foreign reserves and help it combat inflation, was made on the order of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, it said.

Turkey was already suffering from skyrocketing inflation and a weakening currency before last month’s massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake that rocked huge swathes of the country and parts of Syria, killing more than 50,000 people. With elections just a few months away, Erdogan must now absorb economic damage estimated at more than $34 billion by the World Bank.

On Friday, United Arab Emirates and Turkey signed a free trade agreement – the latest step in improving ties long strained by regional disputes. For Turkey, the pact comes ahead of elections on May 14 as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sticks with contested economic policies that have deterred many foreign investors. “The signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with my friend @RTErdogan strengthens the partnership between the UAE & Turkey,” Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan said on Twitter.

The pact “builds on our longstanding ties to deliver further growth, opportunity & stability for our countries & our people,” he said. Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus attended the signing in Abu Dhabi during a video summit between Sheikh Mohammed and Erdogan. The pact aims to eliminate or reduce customs duties on 82 percent of goods and products, accounting for more than 93 percent of non-oil trade, the official WAM news agency reported.

Non-oil exchanges between the two countries reached $19 billion last year, up 40 percent on the previous year and 112 percent from 2020, WAM said. “It is expected that the agreement will contribute to increasing non-oil bilateral trade to $40 billion annually within five years, while also creating 25,000 new job opportunities by 2031,” the news agency added. – AFP

The theme of the diabetes awareness for the holy month of Ramadan this year is “Your Sugar is Okay in the Month of Goodness,” reports Al-Qabas daily quoting Kuwait Diabetes Society Chairman and Endocrinologist at Mubarak Al- Kabeer Hospital Dr Waleed Al-Dhani. Al-Dhani, who also serves as Director of Kuwait Endocrine Fellowship Program, confirmed that “fasting during Ramadan generally improves diabetic conditions.

Most diabetics can fast in Ramadan, except some cases, such as those suffering from repeated drop in blood sugar level (hypoglycemia) three months before Ramadan and those with chronic diseases like heart, eye, nerve and liver conditions.

Diabetics who are injected with insulin multiple times a day, type one diabetics and diabetic pregnant women should also refrain from fasting.” He explained that diabetes is a chronic and lifetime disease; hence, the need for lifestyle changes, adherence to the doctor’s instructions and taking medication on time. “It could be accompanied with other chronic diseases like obesity, high cholesterol level and hypertension. Around 148 million Muslims all over the world are diabetic.

Acting Director of Kuwait General Administration of Customs (KGAC) Suleiman Al-Fahd issued circular number 9 of 2023; banning the import of all types of bird meat from Spain and 22 states in America, reports Al- Anba daily. The directive prohibits the import of all kinds of fresh, chilled, frozen and processed bird meat, their derivatives and products, including table eggs, unless they have undergone heat treatment at 70 degrees Celsius. This is due to the outbreak of highly pathogenic bird fl u as per the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

On the other hand, circular number 8 of 2023 stipulates lifting the ban on importing all kinds of fresh, chilled, frozen and processed poultry meat, their derivatives and products, and table eggs from 16 American states and Ireland due to the end of the highly pathogenic bird flu outbreak in these places.

In a move believed to be necessary to avoid introducing any unhealthy foods or prohibited items to students, the Ministry of Education has decided to prevent employees of delivery companies from entering schools in order to preserve the safety of children and the school community. In a press statement, the Acting Assistant Undersecretary for Educational Development and Student Activities Dr. Ghanem Al-Sulaimani revealed that he had sent a circular to all schools of all stages in all six educational zones to ban the entry of employees of delivery companies into schools as of Sunday, this week, either at the request of students or administrative and educational bodies. He stressed that school canteens must meet all needs in this regard.

Meanwhile, Dr. Al-Sulaimani explained that the ministry will form a team to confront the spread of drugs and cigarettes in schools, especially vapes, with the cooperation of the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social Affairs, in addition to NGO called “Bashayer Al-Kheir Society”, according to specific mechanisms and activities.

These include awareness lectures about drugs, and media campaigns organized by the educational development sector starting from this week. These campaigns will be held in two phases in the intermediate and high school levels. The ministry will organize trips to recreational and scientific places, such as the scientific center, libraries, and book fairs, for members of the awareness group about the dangers of smoking and drugs. By Abdul Rahman Al-Shammari Al-Seyassah Staff

Health Ministry requested that the Ministry of Commerce require all private pharmacies to limit the use of Knet for any sale transactions exceeding 10 dinars to the method of payment through the Knet.

Local media reports state that this is part of an effort to organize and control the work of pharmacies in the private sector.

To ensure security, safety, and protection of the rights of all, the General Traffic Department has introduced new service patrols vehicles that are equipped with advanced audio and video recording technologies.

These new patrols vehicles are equipped with cameras both inside the vehicle on the front and rear, along with a wireless audio recording device.

This will help in documenting any incidents that take place on the roads, which will help to safeguard the rights and safety of everyone involved.

 An Amiri Decree was issued on Sunday assigning His Highness Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah as Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait Government. Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al- Ahmad was also asked to immediately implement the order and form the new government, according to the Amiri Diwan statement. Sheikh Ahmad Nawaf Al- Ahmad must inform the National Assembly about the order and issuing it in the official Gazette. (KUNA)

The Public Authority for Manpower confirmed recently, that the notice of national labor registration “work permit” is automatically renewed for chapters five and three without the need to visit the authority or take any automatic action, reports Al-Qabas daily. The authority said in a press statement that the disbursement of support to national workers continues except in certain cases from Chapter Five, represented by placing a code to stop changing the company’s address “inactive address” and not renewing the permit to practice the profession or the expiration of the commercial license and the insurance statement not appearing on the automatic link between the authority and the Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) for non-payment of the monthly subscription or the existence of indebtedness or for any other reason. With regard to the Chapter Three, it is if the number of the civil entity of the company is not identical to the number registered with the PIFSS by the company.

PAM stated that it has provided several electronic services through its electronic portal to save time and effort for Kuwaiti citizens through the “Sahel” service or the “Sahel for Individuals” and “Sahel Business” applications, stressing its keenness to support national workers in the private sector and facilitate their procedures.

Meanwhile, oil sources revealed that the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation is in the process of reviewing the employment system in the near future, in a manner commensurate with the possibility of accepting larger numbers in the future, reports Al-Rai daily. The sources said that 521 Kuwaitis were accepted in the entire oil sector out of a total of about 7,000 applicants, stressing that the examination system was through a neutral party keen not to disclose the question models or their quality to ensure impartiality among the applicants to the point of not allowing senior officials in the oil sector to screen the tests results. The sources indicated that the children of many senior oil officials responsible for contracting with the examination body have failed, and that those who passed the examinations made self-efforts away from any favoritism.

 Al-Ujairi Scientific Center said next Wednesday will witness the end of the winter cold completely, and the weather tends to get hot during the day, and signs of spring begin to appear on the plants, reports Al-Rai daily. The center added, in a statement to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), today, that this atmospheric inversion is linked to the start of the intimate season, which lasts until the second of next April, and comes immediately after the season of scorpions and before the season of arms.

The center explained that it was called Al- Hamim due to the feeling of heat after the cold of winter. Some divide the season into two parts, Al-Hamim, the first and the second is called Al-Hamimeen, just as night and day are equal in the middle of this season.

The labor crisis continues unabated as in the latest case about 250 expatriate workers gathered in front of the Kuwait Society for Human Rights, due to the refusal of the company they work for to pay their salaries for 8 months, reports Al-Qabas daily. The workers’ representatives told the daily they tried in vain to force the company officials more than once to pay their salaries but the company kept procrastinating every time without justification.

The head of the Committee for Migrant Workers at the Human Rights Society Mashari Al-Sanad, spoke to the protesters and recorded their complaints in preparation for submitting a report, and recording the refusal to receive them by the Public Authority for Manpower

Al-Sanad told the daily that these oppressed workers tried to communicate with the owner and management of the company to give them their financial rights, to no avail, pointing to “two cases of workers who threatened suicide, and the representatives of the association reassured them and promised them to find a solution.”

Meanwhile, a PAM official source denied that the authority refused to receive them and told the daily that the relevant department dealt with the workers’ complaint, and after confirming the validity of their claim, the employer’s file was suspended, noting that the labor complaint was being pursued. The source added that the Deputy Director for Labor Protection Affairs, Fahd Murad, met with a number of affected workers and directed them to submit complaints through electronic systems.

 The Public Prosecution has started investigating the case of a citizen working at the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI), who allegedly received bribes for expediting the issuance of civil identification cards, with some expatriate accomplices, reports Al-Rai daily.

The prosecution interrogated all the accused, putting two of them in pretrial detention. It detained the citizen and released the rest of the accused.

Following a citizen's complaint and warning of its significant negative effects, the government performance follow-up agency has raised the issue of "sparkling wells" in farms again.

The Director of the Public Authority for Agricultural Affairs and Fish Resources (PAAAFR) Mishaal Al-Quraifa revealed a request to form a joint quadruple committee comprising of PAAAFR, the Ministry of Public Works, the Ministry of Electricity and Water, and the Environment Public Authority to develop a mechanism that confines those wells to Wafra farms, and warns them of immediate closure, reports Al-Rai daily.

In a press statement, Al-Qarifa explained that the Council of Ministers instructed the Ministry of Electricity and Water to form the required committee, with its chairmanship and membership of the concerned authorities, stressing that “Whoever refuses to implement this mechanism, a block will be placed on his transactions, and agricultural support will be suspended until his legal status is modified.” This comes in light of the interaction of the government performance follow-up agency with a complaint sent by the Head of the Sabah Al-Ahmad Residential City Committee Turki Al-Osaimi, in which he called on the agency to “urge the concerned authorities to stop this environmental and material crime in the national wealth and the loss of citizens in relation to the repercussions of the sparkling wells.”

The agency asked PAAAFR and EPA, each in its jurisdiction, to set up a mechanism to deal with the violating Wafra farms whose owners dug up sparkling wells, which caused an impact on the groundwater level and led to problems between neighbors as a result of the excess water that is disposed of outside the farm. This salty water seeps into other farms, which leads to damage to those farms and drowning of their crops, in addition to the formation of lakes on the streets between the farms that spread diseases and bad smells, and damage roads.

PAAAFR noticed this phenomenon spreading among farms, as the owners of some Wafra farms dig sparkling wells, some of which reach depths of 80 meters, in the issue of February 15. It is a clear violation of the EPA law, and the latter has been asked to fulfill its role and achieve its objectives.

 A year after the application of the KD 800 fee, in parallel with the implementation of the Kuwaitization policy in government agencies and the crackdown on marginal labor, a recent statistic revealed that 178,919 expatriates left the country in the year 2022.

According to the statistics issued by the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI), the total number of final exits by holders of undergraduate certificates who are of ages 60 years old and above amounted to 17,891 expatriates due to their inability to pay the fees estimated at KD 800. The number of expatriate workers aged 60 years and over reached 104,645 as of mid-2022 from about 122,536 in mid-2021.

There is also a noticeable decrease in university degree holders from 155,665 in mid-2021 to 146,942 in mid-2022. In addition, the number of postgraduates also decreased from 7,213 in mid-2021 to 6,912 in the middle of 2022. The total number of expatriate workers in the middle of the year 2022 amounted to 2 million and 718 thousand and 803 expatriates. Their number in 2021 was about 2 million and 897 thousand and 522 expatriates, which means that about 178,919 expatriates left Kuwait permanently within a year.

According to official data, the percentage of expatriates working in the government sector in Kuwait is the highest among the Gulf countries, with about 23 percent of the total government employees, reports Al- Rai daily. According to the latest statistics of the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI), the number of workers in the public sector amounted to about 483,200 employees, of whom 372,800 are Kuwaitis, constituting about 77 percent of the total, and about 110,400 are expatriates.

The total number of Kuwaitis and non-Kuwaitis working in the public and private sectors in Kuwait amounted to about 1.91 million. Among them, about 75 percent work in the private sector, and the remaining 25 percent in the public sector. As for other GCC countries, the number of workers in the government sector in Saudi Arabia has reached about 1.7 million, of whom about 90.8 percent are Saudis and only 9.1 percent are expatriates, according to data from the General Authority for Statistics in Saudi Arabia. In Bahrain, the number of public sector employees reached about 39.8 thousand workers, of whom Bahrainis constitute 85 percent and expatriates 14.6 percent, according to the latest data of the Labor Market Regulatory Authority in Bahrain. In the UAE, the number of workers in the public sector reached about one million employees with 89 percent Emiratis and 11 percent expatriates, according to data from the official portal of the UAE government.

In the Sultanate of Oman, the number of government workers reached about 393,000, of whom Omanis constitute about 89 percent, and expatriates only 11 percent, according to the electronic census data in the Sultanate, which is a central statistical data system linking various databases of government and private agencies. No detailed data were available regarding the employment structure of the public sector in the State of Qatar. Based on these data, the percentage of expatriates working in the public sector in Kuwait is the highest in the Gulf (23 percent). Bahrain comes in second with 14.6 percent, followed by the UAE and Oman with 11 percent, and then Saudi Arabia with 9.1 percent.By Najeh Bilal Al-Seyassah Staff