The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior, Lieutenant General Anwar Al- Barjas, said the biometric fingerprint project provides a database for everyone who lives in Kuwait provided he/she is 18 years old and above, reports Al-Qabas daily. In this regards the Public Relations and Security Media Department of the ministry said in a press release following an inspection tour by Lieutenant General Al-Barjas to a number of biometric fingerprint centers, to determine the level of performance, speed of completion, and facilitation and facilitation for citizens and residents that the work on new biometric fingerprint efficient and smooth.

Lieutenant General Al-Barjas conveyed to the employees of the General Department of Criminal Evidence, who are in charge of the project, the greetings and appreciation of the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior and Acting Minister of Defense Sheikh Talal Al-Khalid. Lieutenant General Al-Barjas affirmed the keenness of Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled to harness all capabilities and overcoming all obstacles in front of citizens and residents to facilitate their obtaining a biometric fingerprint.

He explained, “There are no impediments to traveling without taking a biometric fingerprint,” stressing that it is applied only during the return to the country. He added that the General Department of Criminal Evidence has taken all measures to facilitate arrivals and its readiness to complete the fingerprint for them, expressing his thanks and appreciation to those in charge of implementing development and modernization plans in the security sectors and upgrading the level of services provided to the public. About 3 weeks after its implementation at the ports, security sources confirmed that the new security system works efficiently and smoothly in the context of the development plan, noting the adoption of an integrated plan to keep pace with the momentum of summer travel and avoid overcrowding.

A wave of thunderstorms and dust storms is approaching, according to the Meteorological Department. The weather conditions are anticipated to cause a significant decrease in horizontal visibility to less than 1000 meters, and in some areas, visibility may be completely obscured due to the presence of dust. The adverse weather conditions will be accompanied by strong and active winds, with speeds exceeding 60 km/h, reports Al-Rai Daily.

As reduced visibility can pose significant risks to drivers and pedestrians, it is crucial to take appropriate safety precautions. It is recommended to stay updated on weather forecasts and follow local authorities' instructions or guidelines.

In order to regulate and monitor the operations of private pharmacies inspection campaigns will persist in the sector. The primary objective is to verify the adherence of license holders to the provisions of the Profession Practice Law 28/1996, as amended by Law 30/2016.

The sources emphasized the continuous coordination between the Ministries of Commerce and Health to address violations related to the unauthorized management of numerous pharmacies by individuals who are not the license holders. Such actions are clear infringements upon the laws governing the practice of the profession.

It is anticipated that the number of pharmacies facing closure will exceed 100 within the coming weeks, considering the violations that have been identified thus far and the sustained inspection efforts.

It is worth noting that the Ministry of Health has already closed 40 pharmacies during the past and current week as part of their regulatory measures.

Secretary General of the Supreme Planning and Development Council Dr. Khaled Mahdi said on Wednesday that Kuwait is continuously seeking to overhaul legislation’s concerning expatriate workers with the aspiration to set up “a smart system” to regulate bringing in the foreign laborers. Mahdi, in a statement marking launch of the report of the 2023 International Development Bank, indicated that mechanisms would be set up to test professional skills of the workers that would be allowed into the country.

Notions incorporated in the aspired strategy include specifying areas where the workers are highly needed with priority for building a lucrative work environment for the citizens namely the young Kuwaitis who should be employed in the private sector. A planned online platform will screen potential employed workers from abroad to ensure the newcomers are qualified to perform the job chosen for them. “It does not make sense that a truck driver in his home country turns into an engineer in the host state!,” he sarcastically remarked alluding to some of such cases. He called for establishing an agency for hiring the foreign expatriates in the private sector.

Meanwhile, member of the national human rights diwan, Dr. Abdulredha Asiri said in a separate statement that the department advocates protecting rights of citizens and expatriates. The resident representative of the World Bank in Kuwait, Ghassan Al- Khojeh, indicated that authorities of the expatriates’ home countries should have well-studied systems to regulate dispatch of laborers to work abroad. The head of the International Migration Organization in Kuwait, Mazen Abulhessen, said recommendations incorporated in the report are in harmony with the international convention for migration and the IMO strategy for the Gulf. (KUNA)

The electrical load index jumped to 14,250 megawatts on Monday, the highest since the beginning of this summer, as a result of the rise in temperature. According to reports, the temperature on Monday reached 43 degrees Celsius.

To strengthen the electrical and water network in the country, coordinated efforts are being made to launch the northern Khairan and Al-Zour power stations.

In addition to producing 1800 megawatts of electricity, the Khairan station will also produce 33 million gallons of desalinated water per day. The second and third phases of the Al-Zour plant will produce 2700 megawatts of energy, and 120 million gallons of desalinated water.

The Chairperson of the Board of Directors has urged the Director General of the Public Authority for Food and Nutrition, Dr. Reem Al-Fulaij, and the Director General of Kuwait Municipality to take action in canceling the sale of live poultry in shops located in residential areas. The aim is to prioritize the licensing of exhibitions for the sale of frozen chicken only, with the goal of safeguarding public health and ensuring consumer safety.

A letter from the Food and Nutrition Authority to the Kuwait Municipality,revealed the ongoing correspondence with the Ministry of Social Affairs regarding the cancellation of selling live poultry in stores, reports Al Qabas. The suggestion is to limit the licensing of exhibitions for the sale of frozen chicken, as the responsibility for identifying investment activities in cooperative societies within central markets and their affiliated branches in residential areas falls under the jurisdiction of the Kuwait Municipality, as per a decision issued by the Municipal Council.

The decision to cancel the activity of selling live poultry and focus solely on licensing exhibitions for selling chilled chicken is based on the need to preserve public health and consumer safety. This decision comes after testimonies from the Director of the Slaughterhouses Department and the Deputy Director General for Inspection and Control Affairs, as well as a legal opinion issued by the Legal Affairs Department. An official letter from the Ahmadi slaughterhouse highlighted the damages and disadvantages associated with shops selling, slaughtering, and processing live poultry in residential areas.

The Food and Nutrition Authority emphasized the importance of taking prompt measures in line with public interest and consumer safety. However, the implementation of the decision is contingent upon the approval of the Kuwait Municipality.

Further meetings and discussions between officials from the Food Authority and the municipality will be conducted to devise an appropriate mechanism for achieving the objectives of the decision and ensuring consumer health. The fate of this initiative will be determined in the coming days, depending on the approval or postponement by the Kuwait Municipality.

This proposal has not yet been communicated to the owners of companies and shops selling poultry in separate areas. If implemented, it will determine the fate of shops selling live chickens in residential, investment, and other areas, although further study and discussions will be held regarding the application of the decision.

The Ministry of Justice has notified the public that the message spread on some social media platforms about the need for citizens to complete the travel declaration transaction for domestic workers in the Documentation Department if they are traveling with the workers is incorrect, reports Al-Rai daily. The ministry stressed that Kuwaitis are not required to complete such a transaction in case they intend to travel with the domestic workers under their sponsorship.

According to reliable sources, the security committee formed by the First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior and Acting Minister of Defense Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled to review the transactions completed in the Residence Affairs Sector during the last period discovered 400 unarchived transactions in the Jahra Residency Department, reports Aljarida daily. They explained that members of the committee, which included officers from the Department of Counterfeiting and Forgery Crimes affiliated to the General Department of Criminal Investigation and officers from the Residence Sector, also uncovered cases of embezzlement of ministry stamps and fines resulting from transactions. They were completed by computer, and no archive was found for them in the administration building.

This meant there has been manipulation in collecting fees or in estimating the number of expatriate workers for citizens and Gulf nationals. The committee also revealed the presence of a female employee of the Jahra Residence Department with residence permits of seven men registered in her name, despite not owning a home. Even if she met the conditions, she would have been granted only a driver and a servant. It was also discovered that another female employee registered in her name five drivers, even though she is married to a citizen and is not allowed to issue work visas under her own name. The committee concluded that there are extensions granted to the visit visas of expatriates of various nationalities, as well as to commercial visit visas that exceed the validity.

Also, they discovered that a Gulf citizen registered in his name seven Bangladeshi expatriates, and their fees have not been collected. The sources affirmed that the committee submitted its report to the First Deputy Prime Minister to refer 20 employees, including officers of various ranks, in the Jahra Residency Department to the investigation authorities, after all the illegally completed transactions were documented, and violations committed by male and female employees were documented by increasing the number of migrant workers registered under their names.

Al-Anba daily reports that the General Administration of Execution makes great efforts in implementing judgments and protecting public money in the administrations of the various governorates and Kuwait International Airport. Meanwhile, the daily continues to publish details of the annual statistics prepared by the Statistics and Research Department of the Information Technology and Statistics Sector at the Ministry of Justice, including the efforts of the General Administration of Implementation of the Ministry of Justice. According to statistics of the Ministry of Justice, 140,005 citizens and residents were prevented from traveling during 2022.

Kuwait Airport Office had the largest share of the travel ban, with 36,145 citizens and residents banned from traveling through Kuwait Airport, according to the statistics. With 28,251 citizens and residents banned from travel, the Capital Governorate had the highest number, followed by Farwaniya Governorate, with 25390 residents and citizens banned from traveling. Al-Jahra Governorate came third in terms of the number of those banned from traveling, with 17,112 citizens and residents, followed by Hawalli Governorate, with 14,495.

With 13,759 people banned from traveling, Al-Ahmadi Governorate ranked second, while Mubarak Al-Kabeer Governorate ranked third with 4,853 people banned from traveling. With regard to the implementation of family courts, the number of those banned from traveling reached 6075 citizens and residents due to family court cases.

There are 1448 citizens and residents in Hawalli Governorate, while there are 1129 citizens and residents in Al-Ahmadi Governorate who are prohibited from traveling. In order of number of citizens and residents banned from travel, Jahra governorate had 1077, Farwaniya governorate had 947, the capital had 878, and Mubarak Al-Kabeer governorate had 596.

The Director of the General Department of Criminal Evidence, Major General Eid Al-Owaihan, said the biometric fingerprint project was a dream of the Ministry of Interior, and it has been achieved on the ground, indicating that the project will contribute to setting up a database for everyone who lives in Kuwait and is 18 years old and above; whether for citizens or residents, where previously there was only the decimal fingerprint, while the biometric fingerprint will activate all information and help verify the identity of each individual, reports Al-Rai daily.

During the first 10 days of the Ministry of Interior starting to take biometric fingerprints for citizens and residents, whether for those arriving at the border crossings or those visiting the centers designated for that, Major General Al-Owaihan said, about 100,000 fingerprints were taken, with expectations of an increase in the frequency of fingerprinting, after increasing the number of centers, and moving to open other centers, so that achieving the goal set by the Ministry to fingerprint all citizens and residents within a year.

Interview
Al-Owaihan said, in an interview with “Al-Rai”, that the Ministry of Interior has prepared an integrated plan that will contribute significantly to the success of this project, by opening 4 centers dedicated to taking fingerprints, and will work to increase them to provide the opportunity for the largest possible number of auditors to take fingerprints, indicating that it is possible to make a prior appointment for fingerprinting through the “Meta” platform and the Ministry of Interior’s website, and that there are instructions by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled and the Undersecretary of the Ministry, Lieutenant General Anwar Al-Barjas, to harness all capabilities and overcome all obstacles in this regard.

He confirmed that work on the old fingerprint is still underway to arrest the perpetrators, remove fingerprints from the crime scene, and arrest violators of the residence law, and explained that with the new fingerprint, the data of the perpetrators or wanted persons will be activated so that they are identified.

The Public Authority for Manpower is currently working on a plan to enable expatriate workers who are registered in companies and establishments whose files has been closed in recent times to transfer their residency to other companies.

These files were ultimately closed due to a lack of a clearly defined automatic procedure for them. However, considering the humanitarian circumstances, it has been decided to allow the transfer of these workers. The condition is that their files must be “cleared” of workers by July this year.

The transfer process will be subject to specific regulations and conditions. Notably, the transfer will only be permitted to valid files with other companies, reports Al Jarida. Additionally, workers will be allowed to transfer from one file to another if more than 12 months have passed since their work permit was issued with the closed/suspended company.

For workers employed by companies holding licenses for small and medium enterprises, it is emphasized that a minimum of 3 years must elapse from the issuance of the work permit as a requirement for transferring their employment. The final decision to accept or reject the transfer will be made accordingly.

These measures taken by the Public Authority for Manpower aim to address the circumstances faced by expatriate workers affected by the suspension of companies. By facilitating their transfer to other companies, consideration is given to their individual situations and the necessity to ensure their welfare.

Al-Qabas daily reports that the Public Authority for Civil Information (PACI) has added two new indicators to the section on population and labor force indicators on its website. In a press statement recently, the authority explained that the first indicator highlights the Kuwaiti population growth rate according to various years.

The second indicator shows the rate of growth of non-Kuwaitis over the years, with the possibility of identifying specific nationalities.

The PACI explained that, based on the most recent indicators, Kuwaiti population has increased by 939,000. The total number of systems registered in 1990 was 578,511. The total registered until last year was 1.5 million.

Kuwaiti individuals in private families have decreased from 6.44 in 1995 to 4.60 in 2020, decelerated from 6.44 in 1995. Kuwaiti private families have increased to 313,000.

Kuwaitis increased by 28,700 as of the end of last year. The annual increase rate ranged between 25 and 32 thousand people, with the exception of 1993, which witnessed an annual increase estimated at 78,9000 people.

At the end of last year, there were 4.7 million residents, of whom 3.2 million were expatriates, and 32 percent were citizens. PACI has 1.5 million citizens.

They constitute the largest number among the total number of communities in the country, with nine communities controlling the highest presence among the population.

A total of 2.056 million workers are employed in the Kuwaiti market, 24 percent are employed by the government, and 76 percent are employed by the private sector. About 77.2 percent of Kuwaitis contribute to work in the government sector, followed by expatriates in the government sector with Egyptians at 7.9 percent, followed by Indians, Saudis, Bangladeshis, Syrians, Pakistanis, Jordanians, Filipinos, and then Nepalese.” As for the private sector, the Indian community constitutes the highest percentage with 30 percent, followed by Egyptians, Bangladeshis, Kuwaitis, Pakistanis, Filipinos, Nepalese, Syrians, Jordanians, and Saudis. In PACI's study, the percentage of workers compared to the total population was 43 percent.

Kuwait had the lowest contribution from the tourism sector to the GDP among Gulf Cooperation Council countries, according to a recent study, with an average contribution of 6.1% to the GDP, compared with 10.8% in the UAE, 9.8% in Bahrain, 9.7% in Qatar, 9.4% in Saudi Arabia, and 6.8% in Oman.

Kuwaitis spend more than 4 billion dinars ($14 billion) on foreign tourism each year, or about 11% of their gross domestic product. Al-Qabas daily reports that the country's tourism revenues do not exceed the level of 300 thousand dinars per year, according to the study, prepared by the Tourism Enterprises Company and recently reviewed by the Council of Ministers.

Tourism projects have finished drawing out the outline for the establishment of an entertainment city that would yield a viable economic return for the government. Approximately 200 million dinars will be required to implement the project, 120 million of which will be capital expenditures, and 80 million will be infrastructure expenditures, with an exploitation period of 50 years instead of 3 years needed for its implementation.

Approximately 85 million dinars will be contributed to GDP by the project in 2035, about 4 thousand new jobs will be created, and 900 thousand people will visit the entertainment city by 2030, assuming that the internal rate of return is between 11% and 13%, assuming a 50-year lease term is assumed.

According to the study, the government has two options for implementing the project:

- A legislative amendment to the State Property Law that the period of offering to exploit the site be 50 years or more, and then it is possible to achieve an internal return of 15%, so that it is attractive to investors in the private sector.

- Injecting the value of the capital required by the state (building and then contracting with an international operator), noting that Wafra Real Estate Company has expressed its desire to invest in the project.

The new entertainment city will include the following sections:
- Amusement parks
- Sports courts
- Hotel
- Water Park
- Sheikh Zayed Park
- Bird watching area
- Forest huts
- Retail and restaurant area
- Picnic area
- Electronic games hall

The First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Interior and Acting Minister of Defense Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled has issued instructions to not renew the residency of an Egyptian couple and their six children and to grant them temporary residency until the end of the academic year, after which they are to be deported, reports Al-Anba daily. He took this decision after receiving a report from the community authorities about domestic disputes between the couple, which led the husband to leave his wife and six children, and stay with one of his friends without leaving any means of sustenance for his family. It reached such an extent that two of his children would take turns going to school in order to take care of an infant who is less than three months old.

According to a security source, one of the children called the Operations Room of the Ministry of Interior, and said her parents left her with her five siblings without food and that they were hungry and did not find anything to eat for two days. The Assistant Undersecretary for Public Security Affairs at the Ministry of Interior Major General Abdullah Al-Rajeeb was immediately informed. He issued instructions that the six children be taken to the police station and provided with meals.

The community authorities, who took care of the children, were notified, and the father was summoned. He revealed that he was unemployed as he had been laid off from work and had financial problems, which resulted in disputes with his wife and was eventually forced to leave the marital home four months ago and stay with his friend. He affirmed that he is committed to the expenses of his children, revealing that he pays the tuition fees and the transportation fees for the bus that takes them to and from their school. As for the mother, she said she was no longer able to take care of the children as she had nothing to spend on them, and so she went to stay with her friend.

In January 2024, Kuwaiti postgraduate students studying at British universities will only be able to obtain residency for their families if they are doing research programs, which usually last longer than two years.

The restrictions are part of the British government's decision to impose entry visa restrictions for the families of international students after record immigration rates in recent years, reports Al-Rai newspaper.

It is expected that the procedures will be implemented in January 2024 after consultation with universities and the higher education sector. Only outstanding postgraduate students in research programs will be allowed to bring their families.

Before completing their studies, students will not be allowed to obtain a work visa instead of a student visa.

According to sources at the British Embassy in Kuwait, visas for companions (spouses or children under 18) of postgraduate students (higher diploma or master's degree) studying in non-research programs (lecture system), for residence in the United Kingdom, will be restricted under the new procedures. It will not affect current postgraduate students or students who plan to begin their studies before January 2024.

According to a statement issued by the General Fire Force's Public Relations and Media Department, a fire was reported to the Central Operations Department this morning regarding the Souk Sharq fish market. The Central Operations Department dispatched firefighters from Al-Hilali and Al-Madinah Fire Stations to put out the fire.

Al-Rai Daily said the fire destroyed a restaurant inside the vegetable section. The site was evacuated immediately, and the fire was extinguished without causing any injuries.

A draft agreement between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait regarding a railway link project between the two countries has been authorized by the cabinet of Saudi Arabia.

A report published in the Arab Times in early May 2023 quoted local Arabic language newspaper Al Qabas as saying that French transportation consultancy Systra had been selected to conduct a feasibility study for a high-speed rail link between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Kuwait will also connect to the GCC Railway via Saudi Arabia with its 111-kilometer-long 'Gulf track' extending from its southern Nuwaiseeb port, on the Saudi-Kuwait border, to Shadadiya. Stage 1 of Kuwait Railway Network project includes Gulf track, for which a study and design tender will be released 15 January 2023 with a closing date of 30 May 2023.

In a development that serves a large segment of microbusiness owners, the Minister of Commerce and Industry Muhammad Al-Aiban issued a decision through which he reorganized licenses for activities of a special nature in a way that would reduce the burden of rents for headquarters for a large segment of business owners, reports Al-Qabas daily. According to informed sources, the number of activities expected to be covered by the decision exceeds 60 commercial and handicraft activities.

There is no need for the owners of these activities to rent official premises to practice their commercial activity, provided that the they undertake it without the need for workers, a commercial store, or the approval of other regulatory authorities such as the municipality, the Ministry of Interior, the Public Authority for Industry, and others.

The activities intended in the decision cannot register or recruit expatriate workers. Regarding the entitlement of holders of commercial licenses of a special nature to support national manpower, the sources said the decision to disburse labor support is not in the hands of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as they will not be granted “national manpower support” for these activities, unless the Public Authority for Manpower issues a decision allowing them to do so. The sources said this decision would restrict the activity of fictitious office rental brokers, as there are those who rent a fake office or for a short period with the aim of obtaining a commercial license. adding that this measure will stop tampering with this file.

The following was stated in resolution No. 82/2023 regarding licensing activities of a special nature:

Article 1: In the application of this decision, it means companies carrying out activities of a special nature by their owners without the need for workers, a commercial store, or the approval of other regulatory authorities. It is within the framework of facilitating and supporting projects, and as an exception to the requirements stipulated in the executive regulations of the aforementioned commercial store licensing law.
Article 2: The application for licensing the companies mentioned in the previous article should be submitted through the ministry’s “single window center” along with the required documents in accordance with the laws and decisions in force, with the exception of submitting a rental contract or receipt if the following data is submitted:

1. A proof of the legality of the home address of the applicant, or the chosen domicile of the applicant, whether it is a law firm or an auditor’s office.
2. Any other documents for which a decision is issued by the minister or whomever he authorizes.

Article 3: The provisions of this decision apply to companies established before and after its issuance. The license is issued for a period of three years.

Article 4: With the exception of the provisions contained in this decision, the provisions of the relevant ministerial decisions remain valid. Article 5: The concerned authorities – each within the scope of their competence – shall implement this decision. It shall come into effect from the date of its issuance. It shall be published in the official gazette.

Conditions for obtaining a license are as follows:
1 – Commercial licenses of a special nature are not issued to public sector employees, and are granted to citizens only registered under chapters 3 and 5, and to retirees.
2 – Permitted commercial licenses must require approvals from bodies other than the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
3 – The applicant for a license who is registered under Chapter 5 is not entitled to labor support for the activity of a special nature.
4 – The owner of the license must practice the work himself. It is forbidden to register or recruit workers for the license.

The following are some of the activities that are allowed to be practiced without a headquarters:
■ Software and web design
■ Consulting activities that do not require the approval of professional bodies
■ Artistic activities such as translation, drawing, calligraphy, photography and booking concerts, events and museums
■ Designing fashion clothes, jewelry, gold artifacts and precious stones
■ Home and office decoration design
■ Organizing sports tournaments and booking stadiums and tickets.

As part of its responsibilities to supervise and regulate private health institutions; the Ministry of Health has confirmed the closure and withdrawal of the licenses of five private health centers, 40 private clinics and 20 private pharmacies for committing violations, reports Al-Qabas daily. The ministry took this step as per the recommendation of specialized inspection committees that uncovered the violations and the results of investigations conducted by the Medical Liability Authority.

According to the ministry, the above mentioned pharmacies were proven to have violated law number 28 of 1996 on regulating the pharmacological profession and its amendment – law number 30 of 2016,. It has been discovered that some of these pharmacies are managed by other people, not the owners or holders of a license to operate pharmacies. The closed health centers and clinics violated Medical and Allied Professions Law number 70 of 2020, as well as the decisions on regulating the private medical sector and health licensing.

The number of individuals who are in violation of the Residency Law reached 130,100 last week, reports Al-Anba daily quoting a reliable source. The source said the latest statistics of the Ministry of Interior showed that the number of expatriates under Article 18 visa (private sector employees) reached 1,408,030; while those under Article 20 (domestic workers) reached 783,372 and those under Article 22 (family or dependent visa) reached 512,306.

The source added that the Indian community is still the largest in the country, followed by the Egyptian community and then the Filipino community