19/12/2021
18951 times read
19/12/2021
18951 times read
BARC of London invests in ME, Kuwait
KUWAIT CITY, Dec 19: Kuwait rose 4 ranks in the Human Freedom Index for the year 2021 issued by the Canadian ‘Fraser’ Institute and the American ‘Cato’ Institute, and ranked 121 in the world, while it came fourth in the Arab world and first in the Gulf in the same index, while it ranked 98 globally in economic freedom, reports Al- Rai daily. The index’s methodology is based on ranking 165 countries based on 3 main indicators: personal, civil and economic freedom. This seventh annual indicator uses 82 sub-indicators to measure personal and economic freedom in the following areas: rules of law, security and safety, movement, religious belief, unions, assembly and civil society, expression and information, relations, size of government, legal system and property rights, money and international trade. In the index of personal freedom, Kuwait ranked 120th in the world, and in the Gulf, Bahrain came first in the index of economic freedom, followed by the UAE second, then Qatar third, Saudi Arabia fourth, Kuwait fifth, and finally Oman.
At the level of Arab countries for the freedom index as a whole, Jordan came first, Lebanon second, Tunisia third, Kuwait fourth, and Qatar fifth. Globally, Switzerland came first, followed by New Zealand, then Denmark, then Estonia, followed by Ireland, then Finland, then Canada, then Australia, then Sweden, and Luxembourg. Meanwhile, the ‘My London’ website has revealed the Bromley Administrative Region Council (BARC) in London has invested huge financial reserves in major international banks, including banks in the Middle East, particularly Kuwait and Qatar, which has drawn criticism from the Britain’s opposition Labor Party, reports Al-Rai daily. According to the website the board has invested 60 million pounds in Middle Eastern banks and in its criticism the Labor Party criticisms spoke of the need to spend more of this money within the Bromley administrative area.
Labor official Angela Wilkins blamed the members of the town council, a majority of who are Conservatives, for the misuse of its surplus funds, noting that the council’s investments rose to the equivalent of £3,000 per family in the town, while the residents could not obtain adequate services. The website quoted the labor official as saying the council lends millions of British pounds to other municipal councils in the country, while investing only £2.6 million in his town. The official added the council has properly identified its priorities and that it was time to give priority to the townspeople. However, Conservative council member has a different opinion and said he was very proud of the council’s track record of managing its investments, and that it had been recognized for its outstanding performance in managing investments and its contribution to easing the burden on the town’s taxpayers.