17 August 2017
'CSC violates its own instructions'

KUWAIT CITY: Official statistics released recently showed that male expatriates outnumbered their female counterparts, indicating 68 percent of residency permits granted in 2016 were for male expatriates.

The number of residency permits granted in 2016 totaled 2,697,195 an increase by 465,840 in the last six years and by 104,097 last year.

The number of male expatriates under visa 18 is five times more than females males constitute 68.32 percent of the total and females constitute 13.33 percent. The total number of expatriates reached 2,697,195 in 2016 and the number is expected to exceed three million in the next four years.

The number of male expatriates reached 1,843,576 while the females totaled 853,619. These figures proved difficulty in addressing the lopsided population structure, especially with the rising number of residency permits granted each year despite the unrevealed procedures taken by the concerned committee.

Relevant studies showed that the problem lies in the growing number of expatriates compared to citizens (one citizen: 2.5 expatriates), in addition to the number of marginal laborers and victims of visa traders. A study conducted in 2014 stated that in case the government manages to get rid of excessive labor (about 800,000 marginal laborers), the ratio will change to one citizen: 1.4 expatriate.

Meanwhile, Civil Service Commission (CSC) has violated its own instructions with the decision to grant 11 expatriate employees a special increase with total monthly remunerations for each employee ranging from KD 300 to KD 500 to be paid with the salary of the current month.

The same sources explained the commission had decided last year not to add any increment to the contracts of expatriates, and the recent step taken by the commission indicates continuity of exceptions granted without regard for resolutions and regulations.

He noted the current stage requires consideration for rewards especially as the train of austerity measures is on the right way. He wondered why the commission is violating its own decisions by paying approximately KD 5,000 in bonuses per month.

He also expressed surprise on the mechanism of work of the commission that rejected all requests for exemption from the decision to implement the fingerprint attendance system in October and today pays special allowances to a number of specialists in accounting and legal services. “This confirms the decisions of the commission are fraught with some contradictions,” he noted.

© Arab Times 2017