Recruitment fees for Sri Lankan maids unchanged: Durra

KUWAIT: Al-Durra Domestic Help Company said it is committed to the fee rate of hiring domestic helper from Sri Lanka at KD 960 without any change. The government-owned firm made this statement in reaction to reports suggesting that recruitment fees could increase following the Philippines’ decision to stop sending its workers to Kuwait.

Iraq conference

US Ambassador to Kuwait Lawrance Silverman said US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will participate in the Iraq rebuilding conference on Feb 12, which will be preceded with a 74-country ministerial meeting to fight terrorism. The official opening of the conference will be on Feb 14 in the presence of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and Iraqi Premier Haider Al-Abadi.

Borrowing ceiling

Chairman of the parliamentary budget and financial disclosure committee Adnan Abdulsamad said the committee met with the Audit Bureau to discuss its report on the state’s financial status for the fiscal year 2016/2017, which is being prepared periodically as commissioned by the National Assembly since 1996. He said the data is confidential, but its general features will be presented to raise the borrowing ceiling to KD 25 billion during 20 years, with a grace period to repay it that could reach 30 years.

Despite the general reserve becoming profitable in this fiscal year after a loss in the previous year, total financial reserves dropped from the previous year due to the continued financing of the budget for the fourth year over the fall in oil prices, in addition to the large financial withdrawals the government made.

The available liquidity in the general reserve and in current accounts and deposits whose finances are used as ready cash to feed the state’s general budget is still at good levels. It is expected that the need to use these funds will reduce due to the relatively good rise of oil prices lately - reaching more than $60 - especially since the state’s general budget for fiscal year 2017/2018 is based on a price of $45 per barrel.

The way the general reserve of the state is being managed should be reviewed, since the Audit Bureau pointed out in its report said financial solvency is not enough. Profits from both real estate and investments from which the general reserve is made are not keeping up with the major withdrawals, making all current accounts and deposits prone to drop largely due to financing the budget. The report showed the rise of government commitments at a large percentage during one financial year due to the expansion of issuing local and international bonds, to a point where these commitments are very close to the total value of government assets in the state’s general reserve, which if it surpasses, will be the start of a general reserve deficit.