KUWAIT: A state of emergency was declared as an oil leakage occurred in a location west of Kuwait, said an official at Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) Monday. In a statement to the press, Deputy CEO for Administrative Affairs and official spokesman of the KOC, Qusai Al-Amer said that the leakage had caused some injury to personnel.

No poisonous gas leakage was detected at the site of the incident, he affirmed. KOC teams are currently handling the situation, taking the necessary procedure to contain the situation, added Al- Amer

KUWAIT: According to a recent immigration report issued by the Central Department of Statistics in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, the total number of residence permits granted to expatriates in the past year was 2,838,613, which is an increase of 318,000 compared to 2021.

The report highlights that the largest increase in residence permits was for domestic workers and civil work, with 162,000 new residences granted to domestic workers and 165,000 for the private sector. The report also notes that 67.2% of first-time permits were issued to expatriates from non-Arab Asian countries.

Additionally, the private sector saw an entry of only 22,258 expat workers, which is the highest percentage after a halt in entry during the COVID-19 pandemic period between 2020 and 2021, reports Al Qabas. The family sector also saw a significant increase in domestic workers and families joining, with 42,800 new workers and an average of 23,416 residents.

Family sector also experienced a substantial influx of domestic workers, totaling 42,800, which is the highest figure in the past three years. Additionally, there was an increase in the number of families with an average of 23,416 residents joining the sector

According to the report, there were 27,690 expats who violated the country’s residency laws last year, 34% of them holding domestic worker residency permits, and 32% of them entered on visitor or temporary residence visas. The report also noted that 64.4% of residency violators were non-Arab Asians, with a total of 17,850 violators, followed by 7,582 residents of Arab nationalities.

According to the report, the number of residency violators in 2022 was the lowest in the past three years, with figures ranging from 36,300 to 42,000 violators. However, the total cumulative number of residency violators in the country has reached 133,440, with domestic workers comprising 49.4% of the violators, followed by 30,417 expatriates who entered the country on visas, and then 29,700 violators who are working in the private sector.

During the previous year, 56,279 residence permits were cancelled, with 54% of them belonging to non-Arab Asian workers. The authorities cancelled 12,911 temporary residence visas during the same period, along with 4,769 government sector workers, followed by 17,376 private sector workers. Additionally, 5 self-sponsored visas were revoked, along with 5,871 permits for domestic workers. 15,131 family visas were cancelled, as well as 104 self sponsors under Article 24.

KUWAIT: The General Secretariat of Arab Union for the Prevention of Addiction said that drug gangs invest about one billion dollars annually in drug trade around the world, and that the Arab countries, especially the rich are targeted by drug dealers. The Secretary General of the Federation, Dr. Khaled Al-Saleh, said during the practical workshop that the Federation held on Sunday, on ‘brain programming in communication and its relationship to addiction’ that brain programming is one of the most important methods of drug gangs and institutions that run this deadly scourge.

Al-Saleh added that these institutions are working to provide information in the media and social circles to ensure that it is entered using the science of brain programming to reduce the risks of drugs and their adoption as a socially acceptable behavior. He pointed out that the research that was presented during the workshop reviewed the methods that are used in brainwashing, including differentiating between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind, exploiting information and benefiting from publishing information in injecting the minds of young people with information that is stored in the subconscious, which ultimately controls the behavior of young people and pushes them to try drug abuse and then fall into the clutches of addiction.

For her part, the psychological consultant, Nadia Al-Obeidi, revealed the importance of adopting neuro-linguistic programming to reverse these at tempts and revive the optimistic, rational and logical thinking pattern in order to repel the electronic attacks that threaten the society which aims to plant information among young people. In her turn, Dr. Hessa Al-Shaheen, the union’s international relations official, explained the role of the family in the Arab and Kuwaiti society in knowing the methods used to control the minds of children and youth.

The most important of which is the addiction that has spread among young people and reached children who are alone with the means of communication and the control of these electronic attacks on their minds. For her part, specialist in media and entertainment development, Dr. Ghanima Al-Othman, explained the exploitation of drug gangs for entertainment means to become a means of attracting young people to use, stressing that the state should adopt entertainment which is consistent with the spirit of Islam, and one of its most important signs is warning against controlling the minds of young people and directing them to dangerous paths, especially drugs.

The workshop, which was held in cooperation with the Association of Sociologists, recommended addressing officials in the Ministries of Information, Education and Social Affairs to pay attention to research and studies to assess the Kuwaiti reality on the issue of social media and the evaluation of these messages and their impact on young people. She stressed the need for the Department of Electronic Media in the Ministry of Information and others to include researchers in the field of brain programming and researchers in social studies in order to uncover methods that nourish children’s minds. (KUNA)

KUWAIT: Relevant regulatory authorities are currently discussing a mechanism for banning expatriates, who hold residency of Article No. 18, from owning companies as a partner or managing partner either at incorporation or in existing entities. This ban will include limiting the granting of this capacity to non-Kuwaiti holders of Article No. 19 residency, reports Al-Rai daily. According to the point of view of the Public Authority for Manpower (PAM), these properties should not be registered in the Ministry of Justice’s register, as it is not permissible to combine the two capacities of worker and employer. PAM explained that the executive regulations of the foreigner residence law did not deprive non-citizens residents of Kuwait the status of partner or investor, as it granted them this capacity, but under the provision of Article No. 19.

The expatriate partners who hold Article 18 residency must adjust their status by changing it to Article No. 19; otherwise, they will have to exit from their holdings. To clarify, workers who hold a work permit according to Article 18 of the executive regulations of the foreigners law issued by the ministerial resolution No. 957/2019 are subject to the supervision and subordination of employers, as the provisions of Article No. 1 of Law No. 6/2010 apply on them regarding work in the private sector, which defined the worker as, “Every male or female who performs manual or mental work for the benefit of the employer and under his management and supervision in exchange for a wage.”

The same article defined the employer as, “Every natural or legal person who employs workers in exchange for wage.” Article 19 stipulates that, “It is permissible to grant normal residency to an investor or a foreign partner in a commercial or industrial activity according to conditions, including that the expatriate is a partner and is committed to attending the last two budgets certified by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.” PAM explained that expatriates holding Article 18 residency are not permitted to be included in the company’s incorporation contract as co-owners or managing partners on the grounds that it is not legally correct for expatriate workers in the private sector to hold the capacity of a partner at the time when they work for employers.

Importance
The importance of this prohibition from the supervisory point of view is growing due to the different legal positions between the status of the expatriate worker and the partner, in addition to the fact that this contradicts the nature of bringing workers into the country to work for employers. This will have a great impact in providing investment opportunities for Kuwaiti citizens. There is also the difficulty of verifying the practice of this labor with the employers they are registered with.

On the ground, it was proven to PAM by conducting inspections of commercial licenses in which expatriate workers hold the capacity of a partner that they sometimes do not practice commercial activity in the first place, despite the registration of workers on those licenses. This constitutes a violation of the provisions of the labor law, and raises suspicions of human trafficking. PAM affirmed that, in light of the keenness to organize the labor market, create opportunities for the national workforce in the labor market, and stimulate their involvement in the private sector, and in implementation of the provisions of various laws related to work and foreign investment, it is necessary to stop granting partner status to expatriate workers who hold residency under the article No. 18, and limiting this capacity to workers who hold article 19 residency.

As a result of this approach, the concerned authorities will stop allowing expatriates under article 18 to work in the capacity of a partner or managing partner of a company. As for the list currently registered with these titles, those included in it will have to change their residency to Article 19 or give up their ownership. Since the contributions of this segment resulted in legal and financial positions and in order to preserve their rights, those who are unable to amend their residency status will be given a period of mostly one year to liquidate their shares within an appropriate period of time, in order to avoid getting rid of them in a defensive manner that harms their rights or gives unreal evaluation indicators in the market due to the increase in the rate of sale.

According to the recent procedures of the Ministry of Justice not to document any real estate sales in the Real Estate Registration Department unless the transaction papers include a bank transfer and states the purpose of the money transfer, or a copy of the certified cheque through which the value of the sold property was paid, it is expected that this procedure will apply to the exit of expatriates covered by the decision. This procedure means stopping cash transactions in such deals, or claiming to have received the value of the deal outside the contract, which blocks the way for the implementation of fake concessions to people who hold article 19 residency. According to PAM’s database, there are about 9,600 expatriate workers in the private sector who hold Article 18 work permits and are also partners of other companies.

KUWAIT: According to informed sources, the Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MOCI) Muhammad Al-Enezi issued a circular to all MOCI employees to declare that each of them have the right to choose the working hours during the month of Ramadan, in accordance with the decision of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), reports Al-Rai daily.

According to the circular sent by CSC to government agencies, the official working hours during Ramadan will be for 4 and a half hours per day, and will be fl exible in the form of three shifts – 9:45 am to 2:15 pm, 10:15 am to 2:45 pm, and 10:45 to 3:15 pm. With regard to the right of each government agency to choose from these three shifts based on what suits it, Al- Enezi came to an agreement with the ministry’s officials to work on a government initiative by granting each employee the right of choosing his/her working hours in a manner that suits the individual necessity.

The sources stated that employees’ choices for their working hours during Ramadan will be received through a website designated by MOCI for this purpose, in preparation for approving applications and reconciling them with the attendance and departure proof systems. They highlighted that this decision is dependent on giving the employees more comfort, and ensuring it contributes to raising the productivity of the MOCI employees during the month of Ramadan, given that each employee has determined their working hours according to what suits them and their special circumstances.

The sources ruled out that the employee’s choice in determining their working hours would expose the ministry’s work to any deficiency, indicating that this decision was studied comprehensively. They added that due to the divergence of interests, none of the three working hours would be exposed to a defect in favor of another.

KUWAIT: The Parliamentary Interior and Defense Committee is discussing a draft law that would amend Article 8 of Amiri Decree 15/1959 of the Kuwaiti Nationality Law, which was submitted by the government in the previous parliament. The proposed changes pertain to the naturalization of foreign women who are married to Kuwaiti men.

The draft law replaces the text of Article 8 of Amiri Decree 15/1959 with new provisions. Under the proposed amendments, a foreign woman who marries a Kuwaiti man will not automatically become a Kuwaiti citizen unless she declares her desire to do so to the Minister of Interior and maintains legal residence in Kuwait for a period of eighteen years from the date of marriage. The Minister of Interior may also prevent her from acquiring Kuwaiti nationality if he deems it necessary.

If the woman’s marriage ends due to death or divorce and she has a son or children, she may declare her desire to acquire Kuwaiti nationality, provided that she had maintained her legal and normal residence in Kuwait and taken care of her children until one of them reaches the age of ten. The Minister of Interior may grant her Kuwaiti nationality by decree based on his proposal.

The amendments also stipulate that the Minister of Interior may grant a foreign woman, the wife of a Kuwaiti, the treatment of a Kuwaiti individual after announcing her desire and maintaining the marriage for a period of three years. The widow of a Kuwaiti man may also be granted the treatment of a Kuwaiti individual if she has a declaration of desire and has a son or children.

According to the explanatory memorandum to the draft law, the current article allows foreign women married to Kuwaiti citizens to acquire Kuwaiti nationality after only five years of marriage, without the requirement of having children, reports Al Rai. This has led to many cases of foreign women gaining Kuwaiti nationality and then separating from their Kuwaiti husbands, without having any ties to Kuwait. The proposed amendments aim to address this issue by extending the period to eighteen years and requiring proof of loyalty and integration with Kuwaiti society.