Investments’ revenues surpassed oil incomes in 2017: Lawmaker

Outdoor work afternoon ban starts June 1

KUWAIT: Revenues by Kuwaiti investments surpassed oil revenues last year, MP Riyadh Al-Adasani said, adding that the future generations fund’s assets increased as well. Adasani, who is the rapporteur of the parliament’s budgets and final statement committee, stressed that the committee is working relentlessly on examining government bodies’ final statements, budgets and audit reports.

Capital spending program

The Finance Ministry, the General Secretariat of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development and other relevant government bodies are setting a plan to accelerate the achievement of the ambitious capital spending program listed in the development plan, focusing on building infrastructure, water and energy according to the publicprivate-partnership (PPP) system, said informed sources. The sources added that KD 5.2 billion had so far been spent on construction projects, roads, airport and power generation in the 2018-2019 budget, and explained that total revenues in the same budget are expected to be KD 15 billion, while the estimated expenditure is KD 20 billion. The sources said mega oil projects reflect the volume of spending on oil projects in the 2017-2018 budget with the aim of creating more job opportunities and making the best use of Kuwait’s natural resources.

New Sabah Hospital

Health Minister Sheikh Dr Basel Al-Sabah denied any delay in the new Sabah Hospital project schedule. Responding to an inquiry by MP Mubarak Al-Hajraf in this regard, Sheikh Basel said that according to annual reports, 38.77 percent of the project was completed by Feb 28, 2018 and that the entire project will be finished and handed over by March 31, 2019. He added that the only possible delay would be due to adding a VIP ward upon instructions from the Amiri Diwan.

Loans to Philippines Responding to an inquiry by MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei concerning loans given to the Philippines by the Kuwait Fund for Economic Development, Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah denied any plans to give further loans to the Philippines. He added that a list he provided included details about all the loans given to the Philippines since the fund was established. He also reviewed the conditions the fund follows on giving loans to any Arab or developing country, including the Philippines.

Afternoon work ban

Official sources at the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM) said the team inspecting outdoor working sites during summer will be re-formed to start working from June 1 to Aug 31, during which working in the open is banned from 11 am till 4 pm. The sources added employers can instead have the workers make up for the ban hours by working in the evening or early morning. In other news, the manpower authority intensified its inspection campaigns on various private sector establishments, and many citations were filed; some because citizens working there did not respect the timing schedule they had submitted to the authority. An official source at the manpower authority noted that the national labor support allowance will be suspended for citizens who do not show up to work and the concerned company’s dossier will be blocked.

Price increases

Kuwait Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies’ Chairman Khalid Al-Hudaiban stressed that the union’s prices committee is the only body that sets prices for various goods. “So far, no prices have been increased as we promised consumers,” he underlined. Hudiaban added that price increases will only be done through a specialized committee that fully knows the companies that deserve to increase their goods’ prices. “Companies usually aim too high and we work on restraining them to protect consumers,” he stressed. Hudaiban said that the committee toured various co-ops to inspect prices and check whether any unjustified price hikes were made.