Kuwait requests maid murder suspects’ extradition

KUWAIT: Lebanese authorities received on Friday a formal request from Kuwaiti authorities to hand over to Kuwait a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife, who are accused of murdering their Filipina housemaid, a Lebanese judicial source said. The request was delivered to Lebanon’s foreign ministry pending referring it to the Lebanese judiciary to decide whether the suspect Essam Assaf and his wife Mona would be handed over to Kuwait or tried in Lebanon as stipulated by Lebanese laws, the sources added.

Oil sector staff

The total number of job vacancies in the oil sector was 1,980 by the end of 2017, high-ranking oil sources said, adding that actual number of jobs in the oil sector would be 17,750 in the 2017-2018 fiscal year budget. The total payroll of oil sector employees in the period of April-December 2017 was KD 980 million, the sources said, adding that Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) managed to save KD 130 million in payrolls, in addition to saving KD 275 million in total operational costs. Moreover, the sources said Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has exerted many efforts to facilitate the employment of 1,031 employees including 729 newly-graduated citizens to take the company’s total employees to 10,402. The sources added that 80.29 percent of KOC’s medical staff and 87.6 percent of non-medical staff are Kuwaitis.

Military spending

Statistics published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) about military spending in the Middle East showed that $148.5 billion was spent in 2017 compared to $153.9 billion spent in 2016. Informed sources said some countries spend covertly, which might increase the total spending on arms to $200 billion. IISS added that the abovementioned figures do not cover the entire region, as purchases made by some major buyers such as Qatar and UAE are still unknown. It added that despite cutting its military spending in 2017 to $76.7 billion, Saudi Arabia remains the largest defense market in the Middle East. According to IISS, Kuwait, Algeria, Bahrain, Oman and Tunisia had to cut military spending and that Kuwait only spent $5.71 billion, compared to $9 billion spent by Oman and $1 billion spent by Bahrain.

Touristic projects

The government has allocated KD 4.3 million for touristic projects in its 2018-2019 budget, according to official documents. The documents showed that the national tourism development project includes four major projects - a recreational center in Egaila, the Grand Zoo and developing Jahra and Sulaibikhat seafronts and the beaches. The documents said the projects would help the government achieve sustainable development and diversify its sources of income.

Water conservation campaign

The Environment Public Authority (EPA) is preparing to launch a national water conservation campaign at all government facilities such as ministries, mosques, schools, hospitals and clinics by installing special water-conserving fixtures and having them regularly maintained, then comparing consumption rates a month later to those before launching the campaign. Notably, Kuwait is ranked third worldwide in per capita water consumption at 500 liters a day, which is twice the rate in Europe despite the scarcity of water resources, and the fourth worldwide in water desalination as a main source of freshwater.

Safety licenses

Kuwait Municipality Director Ahmed Al-Manfouhi announced cancelling the financial deposit paid by citizens to get safety licenses in private residences. Speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting of the municipality’s supreme coordination committee, Manfouhi also praised the new e-construction license system, noting that it had helped accelerate issuance of licenses after digitalizing survey studies. Speaking about the GCC railway project, Manfouhi said technical teams are currently preparing to report to the Cabinet, adding that the municipality has completed adjusting some farm boundaries and contacted relevant authorities to remove two farms obstructing the railway route.

Food authority’s budget

Food and Nutrition Authority’s Chairman Essa AlKandari said the authority requested increasing its budget and that the request is still being considered by the finance ministry. Speaking to reporters after an inspection tour of Ahmadi and the Thaher slaughterhouse, Kandari stressed that the increase of fees collected for services provided in the slaughterhouse were out of the authority’s jurisdiction and explained that the authority is only responsible for hygiene conditions, examining livestock and how the animals are slaughtered.