Jaber Hospital to serve citizens from all over Kuwait: Minister
Municipality can close shops noncompliant with sharia
Health Minister Jamal Al-Harbi reaffirmed that Jaber Hospital would only serve citizens, free of charge. He also noted the new hospital will serve areas of Mubarak Al-Kabeer and Hawally governorates, in addition to some Capital governorate areas, while citizens from other areas would have access to treatment at the hospital only with official transfers from other public hospitals. Harbi explained that Jaber Hospital would be the largest in the Middle East with a capacity of 1,166 beds, 36 operation theaters and 196 ICU beds. He said the hospital was built in South Surra to reduce the burden on Amiri, Mubarak and Adan hospitals.
In another health concern, the newlyappointed overseas treatment manager Dr Abdul Razzaq Al-Anjeri (appointed in midJanuary) quit his new post after only 55 days, said health sources. The sources added that Harbi was expected to name an acting manager or appoint a new one matching the conditions of being a consultant and having good skills in dealing with the public. The sources also predicted the new manager to be a doctor from the younger generation.
Rent allowance
The Ministry of Education’s (MoE) human resource manager Saud Al-Jowaisri said rent allowance had been temporarily suspended for some non-Kuwaiti female teachers who have not updated their information. Jowaisri stressed 85 percent of female teachers had already updated their information and provided the ministry with the needed documents - copies of marriage deeds, copies of the teacher’s and her husband’s civil IDs and a ‘To Whom it May Concern’ certificate from the husband’s workplace. “Rent allowance payment will automatically resume once this is done,” he underlined, noting that the documents were needed to make sure the teachers were not married to Kuwaitis or to people working for the government and already getting rent allowance. Jowaisri added the suspension was made on CSC instructions through decision number 38 pertaining cutting non-Kuwaiti teachers’ rent allowance from KD 150 to 60.
In another educational concern, MoE Undersecretary Dr Haitham Al-Athari said the ministry will launch a new service to receive applications and interview expat teachers online next year without having to dispatch special committees to the teachers’ respective countries. Athari said the ministry was currently working on developing a special e-system enabling applicants to file in their applications through the ministry’s website, and then communicate with those to be interviewed through email, and finally specialized technical committees will interview them online. He added that coordination with the foreign ministry is underway to prepare special halls at Kuwaiti embassies abroad where the applicants would have access to MoE’s website and do the online interviews.
Retirees
Head and founder of the National Project for Retirees Dr Salah Al-Abduljadir said a campaign was launched to promote the project that includes building a database of over 3,000 retired citizens. He also announced that over 100 of them had been nominated for recruitment in government and private bodies.
Privatization
Oil Minister and Minister of Electricity and Water Essam Al-Marzouq stressed that Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) has set a plan to rope in the private sector in running some current and future activities. Marzouq said the plan includes some suggestions about the activities that could be considered when putting the privatization law number 37/2010 into practice.
Taxes
The Finance Ministry’s tax department plans to follow strict measures with shareholding companies to compel them to pay overdue fees and taxes to the government. The ministry will suspend all government services provided to general and closed shareholding companies unless they get a clearance from the tax sector. The decision was made upon directive number 1/2017 pertaining collecting overdue funds, rationalizing and controlling expenditure.
Unified portal
UAE’s telecommunications regulatory authority (TRA) said GCC states plan to launch a unified electronic government portal through which GCC citizens’ transaction could be processed. TRA explained that once in service, the new unified egovernment site would enable GCC citizens to do various transactions using special usernames and passwords after respective GCC e-government networks are connected. TRA added that the GCC egovernment executive committee had prepared an initial list of services to be provided to be reviewed by the GCC ministerial committee meeting due to be held in Doha on March 22.
Sharia laws
Kuwait Municipality recently activated ministerial decision number 372/2008 pertaining public stores causing annoyance or health problems, said informed municipal sources, noting that the municipality had the right to close down any commercial facility if it contradicts Islamic sharia laws and regulations, such as allowing men to work in women’s beauty salons or women working in barbershops.