KUWAIT CITY, March 3: Higher Committee for Nationality in the Cabinet is reviewing the list of names of some 2,000 applicants eligible for Kuwaiti citizenship, reports Al-Anba daily quoting reliable sources as saying. 

Earlier, the concerned authorities approved the files of these applicants for naturalization, and the committee most likely will grant them citizenship.

Meanwhile, participants in an online poll conducted by Al-Seyassah daily last week on the proposal to grant Kuwaiti citizenship to the children of Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis were divided on the issue with 51 percent in favor, 47 percent against and two percent refused to comment.

According to those in favor of the idea, all Kuwaitis should be treated equally, warning that refusing to grant the Kuwaiti nationality to a certain group may cause many problems.

On the other hand, those who opposed the idea said it might have a negative impact on the population structure of the country, while two percent of the participants had no comment on the proposal.
The daily has reported that than 400 men and women from different social groups participated in the survey.

In other news, Communications Minister Salem Al-Utheina discussed several issues on the improvement of the mode of operation in the ministry in a conference in Barcelona recently; as well as the latest development in the fields of technology, transportation and communication, reports Al-Shahed daily quoting sources.

Sources said the minister also tackled the consumer services in Kuwait while the conference touched on the advanced communication gadgets used in security surveillance. Sources disclosed the equipment has the capacity to monitor persons wanted by law for security reasons. Sources confirmed there is a possibility of using the equipment by the security commands in collaboration with the Communications and Interior ministries.

Sources added the minister did not talk about the proposed monitoring of social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, indicating he intends to meet communication experts to find the best way to reduce violations on these sites.

Last month, HH the Deputy Amir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad issued a decree recently stipulating the terms and conditions for providing financial aid to Kuwaiti citizens and families, reports Al-Shahid daily.

Article 1 of the decree specifies that all Kuwaiti citizens without a source of income or earning less than KD 225 are eligible to receive financial aid.

The article further specifies that the beneficiaries of this aid include widows, divorced women, orphans, senior citizens, citizens who are above 18 years of age and suffering from illnesses that hinder their ability to work and provide for their families.

The article also included students of educational institutions other than universities and without guardians, married students, unmarried women above 18 years of age and without guardians, women above 35 years of age, Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis as well as families of prisoners and unemployed ex-convicts as beneficiaries of this aid.

According to Article 2 of the decree, KD 559 will be allocated to the eligible beneficiaries, KD 121 to their wives and oldest sons, KD 65 to students below school age, KD 150 as monthly rent allowance and KD 50 as training and rehabilitation allowance.

The article specified that the value of financial aids to families should not be less than KD 225 and above KD 1,200.

It states that the income of the eligible individuals or families should be deducted from the value of the aid allocated for them except when the income was obtained from donations or from the income of family members who are not beneficiaries of the aid or when the income is less than the value of the aid.