60,000 Expat Driving Licenses Terminated in Kuwait

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KUWAIT CITY, Dec 13: With the year 2023 on the verge of ending, Al-Seyassah reviewed the achievements made by ministries and government agencies in the last 12 months and presented to officials the issues and challenges that loom on the horizon of the new year in developing the country and achieving the aspirations of citizens.

In today’s article, we review the achievements of the Ministry of Interior and the files that await the new year’s resolution. In terms of achievements, the ministry implemented a biometric fingerprint system and dealt painful blows to drug traffickers, as it was able to seize 15 million narcotic pills. It has also come a long way in amending the demographic structure by deporting thousands of violators and canceling 66,000 driving licenses of expatriates.

The ministry, under the directives from the First Deputy Minister of Interior Sheikh Talal Al-Khaled, continues to pursue violators and drug dealers. Several important files remain open before the ministry, the most important of which is the filling of leadership positions in all sectors, approving the traffic law, and continuing the electronic transformation of all services, especially for issuing entry visas for expatriates, opening visits and family visas. The achievements that received great popular reaction include the fight by the Criminal Security Sector led by Major General Hamid Al-Dawas, the Drug Control General Department led by Brigadier General Muhammad Qabazard, and the General Department for Coast Guard led by Major General Talal Al-Munis, against drug traffickers by land, sea and air.

Painful blows
The ministry dealt successive painful blows to drug traffickers, most notably by seizing 15 million Lyrica tablets and more than half a ton of raw Lyrica powder, in the largest drug bust in the history of Kuwait. These drugs would have flooded the country and caused devastating damage. The security services were able to arrest many drug dealers and drug users and put them in prison. The drugs that were seized were estimated at millions of dinars.

In terms of demographics, the achievements of the Ministry of Interior continued with direct field follow-up by the Undersecretary of the ministry Lieutenant General Anwar Al-Barjas and Major General Abdullah Al-Rujaib in prosecuting violators of the residency and labor laws in the country. Security campaigns by the Residence Affairs Investigation Department resulted in the arrest of thousands of residency and labor law violators.

They were deported from the country in major security campaigns in all governorates. On the traffic side, the Ministry of Interior’s General Traffic Department canceled 66,000 driving licenses of expatriates who left the country but their licenses were still valid. A committee was also formed to examine driving licenses to verify compliance with the conditions for expatriates to obtain them and withdraw the licenses from those who do not meet the conditions, in addition to stopping the issuance of paper licenses to expatriates and issuing digital licenses only through the “Kuwait Mobile ID” application.

In the field of digital transformation, the ministry was able to convert most of its services to digital in all its security sectors, including the renewal of citizens’ passports at the airport within less than half an hour, and the opening of new buildings for the ministry, including the Nationality and Passports Building, which is an integrated model building, in addition to collecting the pending traffic fines from expatriates and Gulf nationals before they leave the country. The link between the Ministry of Interior and the various ministries is an important achievement in terms of collecting the ministries’ debts from public funds, in addition to collecting fines worth millions of dinars for traffic violations.

By Munaif Naif
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff

This news has been read 13654 times!