‘Finance’ keen on strengthening commercial & economic growth
Al-Mawashi turns carcasses into eco-friendly compost
KUWAIT CITY, July 17, (KUNA): Minister of Finance Nayef Al-Hajraf on Tuesday affirmed Kuwait’s keenness on strengthening its commercial and economic ties on a global scale.
“Customs are an asset to enhancing the general budget of the country, and play a vital role in developing services and business environments,” said Al-Hajraf in a statement. His remarks came amid a tour in Shuwaikh Port to check on latest updates in the control room of the new structural projects of the Kuwait General Administration of Customs.
“It’s a well-appreciated effort, and they (Administration) have our full support to achieve that vision (His Highness the Amir’s to turn Kuwait into an international financial hub),” Al-Hajraf noted.
The minister assured the significance of the Kuwaiti human element in the Administration, and for the entity to fulfil its duties in various positions, saying “they are of the most integral and long-term investment,” especially since the quantum leap the Administration have made in enabling companies to pay customary taxes online.
In another development, Kuwait’s Livestock Transport and Trading Company (Al-Mawashi) has managed to transform carcasses into organic crop enhancers as an environmental preservation measure, its chief executive said on Tuesday.
In a shared endeavor with Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, AlMawashi set the project, which deals with converting animal remains into fertilizers, in motion at the tail end of 2016, the company’s CEO Osama Boodai said in a statement. Two years after it took up the unorthodox technique, he said that it has already contributed towards a decline in the percentage of cattle deaths by 0.19 percent last year.
On what Boodai described as a “less expensive and time consuming” approach, he revealed that the process to convert animal remains into fertilizer takes only 17 days, making it much less hassle than more conventional methods that typically last for months. Al-Mawashi is the Gulf region’s oldest livestock trade firm, having been a top importer of sheep for decades.
Meanwhile, Kuwait Airways, the national carrier of Kuwait, said Monday it would operate a new route to the Italian city of Milan as of Oct 29.
The airline will operate this route three times a week: Monday, Thursday and Saturday, Kuwait Airways said in a press statement. The move aims at boosting the number of the national carrier’s destinations, and to buttress its strategic vision, according to the statement.
Established in 1953, Kuwait Airways is one of the oldest airlines in the Arabian Gulf region. It covers more than 40 destinations across the world.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor denied that the ministry has received observations from the United Nations concerning the monthly social allowance paid to citizens, reports Al-Qabas daily.
He pointed out that the ministry will continue providing social allowance as per relevant laws and ministerial decisions issued for that purpose. He denied recent rumor circulated about the intention to refer social allowance to Zakat House, noting the ministry has assigned a specific committee to study the needs of beneficiaries on a regular basis and to compare the value of allowances paid to them.
The source noted the basic social allowance is KD 559 in addition to KD 121 for the wife or eldest son or brothers plus KD 65 from the third to the tenth child for large families. He reiterated the maximum value of social allowance is KD 1,200 and the minimum sum is KD 255.