MP wants expat exit permits – Quotas eyed

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MP DR. WALID AL-TABTABAI

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 19: MP Waleed Al-Tabtabaei has proposed imposing exit regulations on expatriates employed in the private sector — whether they intend to leave the country permanently or temporarily, except the husbands of Kuwaiti women and wives of Kuwaiti men.

Article 1 of the bill states that a non-Kuwaiti employed in the private sector or the like should not leave the country permanently or temporarily unless he obtains an exit permit from the Public Authority for Manpower signed by his sponsor and stamped by the institution or company where he works. The signature of the sponsor should be validated and it should not be later than 10 days from the date of departure.

Article 2 stipulates that a non-Kuwaiti who works in the domestic services sector or the like is not permitted to leave the country permanently or temporarily unless he obtains an exit permit from the Ministry of Interior signed by his sponsor not later than three days from the date of departure.

Meanwhile, MP Faisal Al- Kandari unveiled his plan to grill Minister of Oil, Electricity and Water Esam Al-Marzouq if he does not correct the situation in the oil sector, stressing that he has adopted this issue since the previous Parliament. He said he is not calling for tension and crisis, but the level of corruption in the Ministry of Oil requires him to shoulder his responsibilities as a representative of the people. He claimed there are irregularities in the promotions announced this week, indicating that he warned the minister about this and gave him a chance to stop corruption in such a vital sector.

He added 100 officials were invited last week to fill up vacancies and there was a visual presentation on future officials in the oil sector, revealing the presentation was stopped. He wondered about transparency and clarity in the promotion of officials who did not work, did not submit projects and have no experience; while the qualified managers were excluded.

He alleged favoritism and personal considerations come into play in appointing and extending the tenure of some officials, disclosing the minister delivered a message to the political leadership and the government on the lack of officials despite the presence of more than 100 officials. He was surprised when managers specialized in joint services in Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) were excluded from the promotion, while the nonspecialized managers were promoted. He added one of the candidates for the post of deputy CEO for northern Kuwait is an administrator, not a professional or specialized in the field. He blamed the minister for these catastrophic violations, asserting the minister cannot impose his will on the oil sector.

He pointed out the sector has been granted a budget of KD 9 billion for the development of oil fields and increasing production, but this amount was disbursed inappropriately. He disclosed some contractors do not have the tools to execute the contracts, so the oil sector buys machines for them using public money.

He said the CEO and his deputy destroyed the country because of the strike which reduced production from 2,800,000 barrels to 900,000; thereby, causing losses to the State and tarnishing the reputation of Kuwait the global community. He asked if the minister punished any of the officials behind this enormous loss. Commenting on the same issue, MP Jaman Al-Harbash urged the oil minister to be fair and transparent in filling vacant leadership posts in the oil sector. He said the minister must stop the appointment of leaders until the implementation of transparency criteria acceptable for everyone.

Quotas eyed
The government intends to impose a quota for expatriate workers to fix the lopsided population structure. The digital version of Al-Anba daily quoted Minister of Social Affairs and Labor and State Minister for Economic Affairs Hind Al-Subaih as saying that the residence permits of many expatriates will not be renewed once the decision is applied. She confirmed that studies are being conducted on reforming the labor market in order to eradicate marginal workers and the unemployed. She clarified such steps are aimed at protecting the rights of expatriate workers and preventing crimes.

By Abubakar A. Ibrahim Arab Times Staff and Agencies

This news has been read 8816 times!

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