KD 121m spent on food, construction ‘subsidies’

KUWAIT CITY, Sept 9: The official data issued by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, a copy of which has been obtained by the Al-Anba daily, shows 121 million dinars has been spent by the ministry on subsidies for the first eight months from January 2021 until August 2021, reports AlAnba daily.

The daily added, a bigger percentage of this money more than 50 percent or about 61 million dinars was consumed by the construction material and the remaining amount — 56.4 million dinars — on 9 basic food supplies, which are rice, sugar, lentils, corn oil, powdered milk, milk and baby food (21 types), tomato paste (two types), and frozen chicken (20 types). It also provides subsidies for subsidized construction materials that include 6 core items and 7 elective items.

The data showed a remarkable growth in the volume of spending on supporting construction materials since the beginning of this year until the end of last August, as spending on supporting these materials reached 5.1 million dinars in January, 5.6 million in February, 12 million in July and 13 million in August — in a clear indication of the growth of construction work in the residential areas in recent months.

The total number of individuals registered through the ration card system and beneficiaries of these subsidized materials is about 2.1 million as of the end of last August, while the number of ration cards is 245,000, while the total annual cost borne by the state as a result of the support it provides to citizens on all foodstuffs and construction is about 210 million dinars.

The Ministry of Finance might be restructured as there have been talks on separating certain sectors like budget, investment and subsidiaries, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources.

Sources hinted on the possibility of separating the investment sector such that it will be transformed into an independent ministry in charge of investment agencies managing State funds like the Public Institution for Social Security, Kuwait Investment Authority, Direct Investment Promotion Authority, Partnership Projects Authority, Technical Authority for Privatization and the Central Bank of Kuwait.

Sources added the other ministry will include traditional departments and sectors; such as Budget Preparation, Tax and Expropriation, Public Authority for Compensation Estimation and Secretariat General for Planning.