Domestic labor office owners must ink agreement with PAM

Justifications for budget deficit cover interests of capitalists

KUWAIT CITY, Jan 27: Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) has called on owners of domestic labor recruitment offices to sign domestic labor contracts either by the owners of the licenses or by their legal representatives, reports AlAnba daily.

PAM stated that the legal representative of the company must visit the authority in case the company is summoned for dealing with complaints submitted about the domestic workers.

It affirmed that this step is as per circular No. 2/2020 regarding contracts for domestic employment and rules of the laws.

Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of Kuwait Progressive Movement Ahmed Al-Dayyen blamed the executive and the legislative authorities and major capitalists in the country for the budget deficit, considering government’s interpretation of budget deficit is not neutral and conducive to the influential class of the ruling class and capitalists, reports Al-Rai daily.

At a recent symposium organized by the Progressive Movement titled “You are the reason” at its headquarters, Al-Dayyen said the movement is based on socialist idea that the state is not neutral in any country, because government is usually in the hands of the dominant class. Consequently, we understand that its laws, budget and decisions are often conducted in the interest of the class having economic control; thus they are not at the same space with the classes of society.

Explained

He explained that government’s justifications for budget deficits come to cover the interests of the ruling class and capitalists. He pointed out that deficit is no financial shortage for the state’s economic position, but rather a deficit in its financial estimates, simply because they do not consider among the revenues the returns of investments achieved by the Public Reserve Fund, the Incoming Generations Fund, social security or oil investment.

He stated the state attributes budget deficit to inflation of salaries, wages and subsidies on the pretext that this section consumes 71 percent of expenditure, so he sees the solution in reducing salaries and subsidies and not appointing Kuwaitis in government sectors.

He also suggested stopping the increase of salaries and pensions, reducing government spending in social aspects, reducing spending on services such as health, education, etc, and working to increase the prices of electricity and gasoline, while privatizing the state’s sectors.

Al-Dayyen added, “Those who speak this opinion attribute the reason for the budget deficit to the economic role the state plays in serving society. The opinion is biased against the interests of the vast majority of people in the interest of the big capitalists”.

He acknowledged the existence of a budget deficit and erosion in the state’s general reserves, which he attributed to the presence of structural imbalance in the Kuwaiti economy. He said, “This economy is not productive but reactionary, while it performs a backward function based on the export of crude oil and importing products from abroad.” He continued, “This economy, which depends on a single, fluctuating and depleted resource, is inherently destructive and the solution lies in development. The progressive movement anticipates a deep crisis, and in this case, it will continue as long as no alternative development solution is present.”

He explained “the real causes of deficit, as the movement sees it, lies in the inflated volume of government spending from one year to another in an irrational manner, and that the estimates of expenditures increased during four fiscal years from 18.892 billion dinars in 2016-2017 to 22.500 billion dinars in 2019-2020. This is an exaggerated increase that is not com

mensurate with the increase in the number of Kuwaitis.”

He believes that “the deficit is as result of funds wastage and undue advantages that take place through tenders in hundreds of millions of dinars, while the real cost is lower, in addition to the courtesies government provides to construction companies through variation orders in its projects. Also, corruption is one of the most important aspects of the

deficit in state budget, as in 2018, the total sum embezzled, according to cases being reviewed in courts other than cases that were covered up, are worth 2.400 billion dinars”.

For his part, member of the Political Bureau of the Progressive Movement Dr Hamad Al-Ansari said the estimated budget deficit of about 9.2 billion dinars is mainly due to financial mismanagement and corruption, considering the deficit in budget is a

natural product of government’s approach to wastage, undue advantage and lack of seriousness in the fight against corruption.

Al-Ansari called for the implementation of progressive tax on large incomes, rather than discussing the value-added tax, which equals the poor with the rich and burdens private sector with part of the national responsibility to reduce pressure on government sector.