Govt mulls no public sector jobs for expats

No nationality quotas

KUWAIT: The special report on adjusting Kuwait’s demographic structure is almost complete, with 12 recommendations that do not include reduction of the numbers of expats holding certain nationalities, well-informed official sources at the Supreme Planning Council’s secretariat general told Al-Rai daily. The sources said that according to analyses made at the end of the previous five-year plan, the number of Kuwaitis is continuously decreasing due to the growth of the expat population in the same period.

The sources also demanded suspending the recruitment of expats in the public sector with exceptions for those with rare specializations who cannot be replaced by citizens. Furthermore, the sources highlighted that building labor cities was one of the main recommendations made to adjust Kuwait’s demography, as the government would be able to control the number of expats entering and exiting Kuwait, while security authorities would be able to monitor their actions once they are confined to specified locations.

Moreover, the source explained that six locations had been suggested to build labor cities and that two of them had been already built to avoid the chaos about the whereabouts and exact numbers of expats, needless to mention their legal statuses, especially since some of them are currently residing in urban areas amongst citizens.

The sources explained that most recommendations involved limiting the number of marginal expat laborers and recruiting only skilled and experienced people who can provide benefits to Kuwait. They called for stricter policies and measures to resolve labor market imbalances including amending certain legislations, resolving absconders’ problems, travel bans and immediate deportation procedures. In addition, the sources said that the 2018-2019 development plan includes new conditions on approving projects, including investment returns and creating enough job opportunities for citizens.