22 August 2017

By Abubakar A. Ibrahim Arab Times Staff

KUWAT CITY: MP Abdulkarim Al- Kandari finds decisions on restoring balance of the population structure “funny, because the ministers are the ones violating the rules daily.” He said there are qualified Kuwaiti graduates in accounting and law, so it is surprising that the State continues to recruit expatriates for these jobs.

He alleged that information leaked through the social media revealed the large amount of financial privileges granted to expatriate advisers  more than KD 3,000. He asked Minister of Social Affairs Hind Al- Subaih to stop the recruitment of expatriates and to refrain from increasing the salaries of expatriate employees.

He said the defense minister has no authority to employ experts from abroad, adding he submitted a proposal to conduct a comprehensive study to benefit from the experience of Kuwaiti retirees or their children. He went on to say the minister of education recently received a delegation of Palestinian teachers, asserting that those who take decisions on the population structure are the ones who caused the population imbalance.

He stressed these decisions are pointless because the government itself is not determined to balance the population structure. He asked the minister of Social Affairs and Labor to review requests for manpower estimates, similar to what she did with the handicapped files and welfare requests. He believes this step will lead to elimination of at least two million extra expatriate workers.

Meanwhile, MP Faraj Zaban Al- Arbeed has urged Health Minister Dr Jamal Al-Harbi to amend the bylaws on overseas medical treatment to ensure all citizens who need to undergo treatment abroad are covered. He said the new regulations do not include illnesses which have no cure in the country such as serious infertility, some nervous system diseases, effects of clots and severe fractures. He pointed out that physical therapy services here continue to deteriorate, while hospital appointments usually take a long time – up to several months and some patients need natural treatment which is not available in the country; especially among children, those injured in accidents and those who suffered from stroke or chest problems.

He argued the abolition of overseas natural treatment services is an uncalculated decision, considering there has been no improvement in services provided in the country unlike those offered by therapeutic clinics in medically developed countries. He said the cost for overseas natural treatment is not that high and it will not be a burden on the Health Ministry’s budget, so there is no justification for its cancellation.

He stressed that overseas treatment is the constitutional and legal right of Kuwaitis, especially when the treatment for those in critical condition is not available in the country. He emphasized the need to end the suffering of Kuwaiti patients caused by the abusive acts of overseas treatment committees and to cancel decisions that deprive citizens of the right to undergo treatment abroad if there is no cure for their illness in the country.

© Arab Times 2017