System to help ‘protect’ Egyptian workers from trafficking in Kuwait

‘Ensuring only highly skilled laborers are recruited’

An electronic system that links between Kuwait’s Public Authority for Manpower and the Egyptian Ministry of Manpower and Immigration is now in the final preparatory stages and is expected to be launched soon, said informed sources. The new system will initially be used for Egyptians recruited to work for government projects, and later for all private sector companies, the sources said. The main goal behind it is to protect workers from trafficking, and prevent them from being taken advantage of after being brought to Kuwait by fake, closed down or illusionary companies, they explained.

The sources added that the system would also enable the Egyptian side to verify that the companies recruiting Egyptians are actually active and operating, and not suspended. “It will help make sure only highly skilled laborers will be bought to Kuwait as a means to get rid of marginal ones,” the sources explained.

The newest development comes at a time in which Kuwait scrambles to find a solution for its worsening demographic imbalance problem, which had prompted lawmakers to call for a special National Assembly to discuss the effects of the issue. There are nearly 600,000 Egyptian nationals living and working in Kuwait according to official statistics, which does not include people living illegally in the country.

The State Audit Bureau repeated its warnings to Kuwait Municipality about financial violations in the form of unlawfully paying some officials and administrative staff members allowances for extra shifts, remote locations and food despite warnings in previous Audit Bureau reports. “These allowances are paid from the state treasury to people who do not deserve them,” explained the bureau’s report.

The Public Authority for Housing Welfare (PAHW) is currently awaiting the Municipal Council’s decision to allocate more land to the south of Abu Halifa to be used for housing purposes, said informed sources, noting that the expected land will accommodate 1,180 plots, in addition to 450 more to be used for public facilities.

Bonuses still on

Kuwait University’s Acting Secretary General Dr Adam Al-Mulla refuted recent rumors about suspending excellent performance bonuses because of cuts in the university’s 2016-2017 budget and stressed that lists of those deserving the bonuses were being prepared pending referral to relevant authorities.

Egyptian universities

Kuwait’s Cultural Office in Cairo announced launching a system of registration in Egyptian universities accredited by Kuwait, noting that 24 universities had been accredited including Cairo, Alexandria, Ain Shams, Assiut, Al-Azhar, Mansoura, Tanta, Zagazig, Helwan, Minoufiya, Suez Canal, South Valley, Banha, Bani Sowaif, Fayyouom, Sohag, Kafr Al-Shaikh, Port Said, Damanhour, Aswan, Damietta, Suez, Sadat Academy for Administrative Sciences and the Arts Academy.