Kuwait Seeks To Fix Demographic Imbalances

MP Dr. Badr Al-Mulla and other MPS presented a proposal to be entered into law to deal with the demographic imbalance in Kuwait. He pointed out that the demographic imbalance was causing some the problems that Kuwait has suffered in recent years, reported Al Rai daily.

One of the main problems that were discovered at the time of coronavirus crisis that there was an excess of marginal workers in Kuwait. The MPs added that it has led to overcrowded areas that do not adhere to the health requirements which clearly contributed to the spread of the coronavirus in a manner that forced the Council of Ministers to impose a total lockdown in these overcrowded areas.

Fixing the demographic composition does not stop at limits on the percentage of the number of expats in relation to Kuwaitis, but there is an imbalance in the number of the various expat nationalities in relation to the number of citizens. The MPS suggested that a law needs to be created to set the maximum percentage of nationalities against the number of citizens, and prohibits the recruitment of any person from this community that exceeds the number of citizens.

The proposal contains many articles, which are :
Article (1): The provisions of this law apply to all nationalities permitted to enter the State of Kuwait. It exempts citizens of the GCC states, the husband and children of a Kuwaiti citizen, domestic workers, and laborers for government contracts, heads and members of political missions dispatched to Kuwait and their spouses and children, heads of state and their family members, international transportation operators, and members of military missions of countries with which Kuwait has security agreements.

Article (2): The nationalities’ percentage is calculated according to the ratio and proportion to the number of Kuwaiti citizens. Table No. 1 of this law defines the ratio of each nationality in relation to the number of citizens. Each of them is a maximum for this nationality, and it does not include in the calculation of those percentages what is mentioned in Article (1), government authorities should take the necessary measures to reduce the percentage of nationalities in Kuwait, according to what is stipulated in this law.

Article (3): It is not permissible to bring any worker to Kuwait if the nationality percentage has exceeded the permissible limit mentioned in Table No. 1 and the prohibition of recruitment remains in effect until the expat nationality percentage falls below the percentage stipulated in Table No. 1. Every 3 months the Central Bureau of Statistics should provide government offices the total percentage for each nationality every 3 months.

Article (4): Government authorities are prohibited from transferring visas of domestic labor to the visas for employment of private or oil sector, neither convert visit into a work residency visa, neither visit to dependent and neither renew the residency visas of workers of government contracts after the government project has ended.

Article (5): Law breakers are to be punished with imprisonment that does not exceed 10 years and a fine that does not exceed 100,000 dinars, or either of these two penalties, on every public employee who orders or agrees to bring in a worker despite the nationality exceeding that the worker belongs to the percentage stipulated in Table No. (1).

Article (6):  A public official shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding five years and a fine not exceeding 50,000 dinars, or with either of these two penalties who orders or agrees to convert a visa into a work residency visa or renews it as a violation of the provisions of Article No. (4).

Article (7): In addition to the penalties stipulated for the crimes mentioned in Articles 5 and 6, the perpetrator shall be dismissed from the public office.

The ministers, each within his jurisdiction, shall implement this law and it shall enter into force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

Source - The Times Kuwait

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