Public transport best solution for traffic problem: Official

KUWAIT: Vice chairman of the Public Authority for Roads and Transport Saud Al-Naqi said the best solution for traffic congestions is to develop public transportation. Chronic traffic jams have been the subject of much political debate as of late. A recent report indicated that the parliament’s interior and defense committee has approved a proposal by MP Safaa Al-Hashem to suspend issuing new driver’s licenses to expatriates for one year, and limit the number of vehicles a foreigner can own to one as a temporary solution to the traffic problem. “Developing public transport and building trust between these means and users including citizens and residents, in addition to using new means such as a metro or trains will help solve the traffic congestion problem,” Naqi underlined, noting that the authority will set an integrated plan to resolve the problem. Naqi said cooperation is in progress between the municipality and special advisors to set the state’s structural plan including suggested metro routes. Naqi stressed that imposing tolls on roads will not solve the problem and that some advanced countries collect them only to pay for those specific roads’ maintenance. “Those countries only do this after providing alternative roads to be used free of charge,” he explained, noting that tolls could only be collected on roads with special privileges such as Jaber Bridge, which is expected to cut the time needed to reach Sulaibiya. “We at the road authority have not been appointed to collect money - we target developing roads. Tolls could be imposed later once our roads become more secure and comfortable,” he reiterated.

Marginal labor

Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and Minister of State for Economic Development Hind Al-Sabeeh said the Civil Service Commission (CSC) will approve the manpower structural organization after merging it with the Manpower and Government Restructuring Program soon, adding that all the procedures needed for the merger process had already been completed except one that is still being discussed by both sides.

Speaking on the sidelines of touring the new blood bank project in Adan along with Health Minister Jamal AlHarbi, Sabeeh said new decisions will be issued soon to limit the number of marginal laborers, but did not elaborate on that. Sabeeh also expressed joy at having another blood bank in Kuwait after only one had been operating since 1965.

Meanwhile, Harbi said that the new bank would be launched by the beginning of 2018. He also noted that the new building’s tender is currently being reviewed by the Central Tenders Commission (CTC) before examination by the State Audit Bureau. Harbi explained that the new building will be built over an area of 16,400 sq m at a total cost of KD 6 million. He added that the new blood bank is close to the air ambulance center and includes 40 beds. Also speaking on the occasion, board chairman of the executing company Hussein Al-Kharafi stressed that cooperation amongst various social sects helps execute mega projects. Also in attendance were head of the government performance follow-up apparatus Sheikh Ahmad Meshaal Al-Sabah, MSAL undersecretary Saad AlKharraz, MSAL assistant undersecretary for cooperation Sheikha Al-Adwani and the project’s coordinator general Nouriya Al-Sadani.

Grilling motion

In other news, MPs Mubarak Al-Hajraf, Al-Humaidi AlSubaei, Khaled Al-Otaibi and Nayef Al-Merdas will intensify consultations over the coming days to put the final touches on a grilling motion they intend to file against Sabeeh. Parliamentary sources noted that only three of the four MPs will file the motion. They added that Hajraf, Subaei and Otaibi had already held several preliminary meetings over the past two weeks before Subaei travelled and Merdas filled in. The sources said that the grilling motion will cover all the sectors under Sabeeh’s jurisdiction in both ministries and it would probably be filed after the inaugural session of the coming parliamentary term.

Negative phenomena

Meanwhile, MP Mohammed Hayef announced plans to request the formation of the parliamentary negative phenomena committee as one of the important temporary committees formed since the 2009 parliament. Hayef also noted that in case the parliament approves the formation, the committee members will only be those who support it and willing to help it succeed not those who want it to fail.

Revenues and expenditure

Well-informed financial sources said a new method would be followed in calculating revenues and expenditure as well as waste through the new governmental financial management system, which is expected to save considerable amounts. The sources added that all government bodies will have to do all financial settlements of their assets before the end of the current fiscal year (2017-2018) and provide auditors with copies of their budgets. They added that all revenues will have to be deposited in those bodies’ accounts at the central bank before the end of May 2018.

Bottled water

Ministry of Electricity and Water (MEW) Undersecretary Mohammed Boshehri hailed a decision by the Minister of Commerce and Industry Khaled AlRoudhan to ban the export of locally produced bottled water. Boshehri added that the state pays 90 percent of commodity’s production cost, and stressed that it is illogical to export such a product, especially since the state pays KD 6 for 1,000 gallons. In addition, Boshehri stressed that Kuwait is ranked third worldwide in per capita consumption of water - 5,000 liters per person daily. He added that reports showed that around 20 million bottles were being exported monthly, ie 8-10 million gallons. He reiterated that it is illogical that state-subsidized water is exported.