How to Lift Subsidies Without Hitting Hard
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SUBSCRIPTION SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2014 RAJAB 4, 1435 AH No: 16154 Mideast peace Pro-Russian Sevilla and talks dead, no rebels down Benfica resumption two Ukraine face off in on horizon9 helicopters10 Europa48 final How to lift subsidies without hitting hard Max 38º 150 Fils Panel to devise implementation mechanism Min 24º KUWAIT: A government committee tasked with devising a new mechanism to slash subsidies of expatriates will meet this week to discuss options for implementing the decision without hitting the expats hard. The discussions will focus on evolving a pragmatic mechanism that could save up the state exchequer KD2.4 billion annually through rationalizing subsi- dies. At the same time, it should also ensure that foreigners living in Kuwait will not experience any serious adverse impact as a result of the new measure, said sources within the Finance Ministry. The sources quoted by Annahar daily were saying yester- day that the plans are still in discussion stages. One option suggests that the government reduces subsidization in a phased manner so as to avert any immediate social impact by setting specific quotas of subsidized services for Kuwaitis. This option is likely to be adopted in future in order to rationalize subsidization of fuel and energy, according to discussions fea- tured in previous meetings. Another option calls for increas- ing the value of non-basic services, while another discusses ways by which the government increases the quality of cer- tain services to justify increasing their value. The committee also plans to discuss methods to curb budget waste through a long-term strategy, the sources said. The main objective is to reduce subsidization from KD 5.4 billion annually to KD3 billion, through mechanisms that do ALEPPO: The burnt remains of victims lie on the ground following reported air strikes by government forces in the not leave a serious effect on consumers including expatriates, Halak neighborhood in northeastern Aleppo. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, at least 33 the sources said. The government also hopes that reducing civilians were killed in the attack. — AFP subsidization would help alleviate pressure on public services such as energy that has been suffering from overconsumption in recent years. Mohammad Bushehri, the Assistant In Iraq, Syria; a resurgence Undersecretary for Water Operation and Maintenance at the Ministry of Electricity and Water, was recently quoted as say- ing that rationalizing water between 20 to 25 percent can of foreign suicide bombers save up to KD 300 million a year, an amount he says is “enough to build 50 schools in the country.” — Agencies Fighters coming from Kuwait, Mideast, West WASHINGTON: Shortly before Abdul Waheed Majeed, a 41- levels not seen since 2007, US officials said. The officials said Saudis get Internet year-old British truck driver, blew himself up in an attack on a they did not have precise data on the number of foreign Syrian prison, he brushed aside a question in Arabic. “I’m sor- fighters involved in the violence. hotline to the king ry, I can’t speak it,” he said in a video. “My tongue bro’... it’s got But in March and April alone, at least 14 Tunisians fighting like a knot in it.” That suicide-bomb attack on Feb. 6 by the with ISIL blew themselves up at various locations in Iraq, RIYADH: Saudi citizens can now petition 90-year-old Pakistani-born Majeed, appeared to be part of a resurgence of according to postings on social media sites affiliated with ISIL, King Abdullah directly and lodge complaints through such attacks that represented a disturbing shift in tactics which US and European authorities monitor. That is about an Internet site set up at the initiative of the monarch among radical jihadists in the sectarian killing grounds of half of the total number of foreign suicide bombers identified himself. The portal tawasol.royalcourt.gov.sa, named Syria and Iraq. with ISIL on social media who blew themselves up during the after the Arabic word for communication, was launched Many of them have been carried out by foreigners drawn two-month period, said Laith Alkhouri, a senior analyst with to the conflicts from across the region and from Europe, US Flashpoint Partners, a group which monitors militant social on an experimental basis on Wednesday. All messages and European security and intelligence officials say. Will media postings. are to be forwarded to the king. McCants, an expert at the Brookings Institution think tank in Other suicide bombers in Iraq in March and April included “People will be able to inform the king about any Washington, said given the rapid increase of foreign fighters fighters from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, one of the shortcomings in the services offered by government in Syria “if the war drags on, the number of fighters will far group’s most lethal wings based mostly in Yemen. Alkhouri agencies, and to take suitable action for the benefit of eclipse those we saw in Afghanistan.” The security officials said many of them appeared to be Saudis, Libyans, Egyptians, all citizens,” the website says. More and more Saudis in estimated that several thousand foreign nationals are active Moroccans and Jordanians. A Danish citizen and a Tadjik were the ultra-conservative Muslim state are turning to social in the two countries. also reported by the group to have blown themselves up. networking sites to demand improved living condi- Most are with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), an ultra-conservative militant group reconstituted from an Resurgence of bombers tions. However, the authorities, who block access to earlier incarnation of Al-Qaeda and is active in Syria and Iraq During the 2006-2007 civil war in Iraq, when the use of sui- politically sensitive or pornographic websites, made and with Jabhat Al Nusrah, an Al-Qaeda affiliate which is one cide bombings were rampant, foreigners made up the largest several arrests in March for tweets deemed offensive to of the most powerful rebel forces in Syria. In the last year the proportion of the militants carrying them out. the king. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy where rate of suicide bomb attacks in Iraq has risen sharply, back to Continued on Page 14 protests are banned. — AFP LOCAL SATURDAY, MAY 3, 2014 Major shipment of liquor seized at Shuwaikh port KUWAIT: Customs officials at the Shuwaikh Port MP questioned seized 11,400 liquor bottles smuggled in a ship- A lawmaker was held briefly for questioning ment of spare-parts’ that arrived on March 12, after he accidently hit a pedestrian at the Jamal 2014. The officials also discovered that the docu- Abdul-Nasser Road recently. MP Mohammad Al- ments stating the shipment was imported by the Enizy reportedly waited until an ambulance United States Army troops in Kuwait were forged. arrived at the scene in response to an emergency The customs department contacted the US Army call he made after the accident occurred. The law- officials after many weeks, but no one claimed the maker accompanied the Iranian man to the hospi- shipment. US Army officials said that they know tal and later left after he was told that the man’s nothing about the shipment, which confirmed injuries were not severe. MP Al-Enizy headed to customs personnel’s earlier suspicions that it Roudha police station later and filed a case. —Rai might contain contrabands. Customs officials waited for 48 hours before a decision was made to open the shipment on Thursday in the presence Fugitive nabbed of US Army representatives. They discovered that Jahra police arrested a fugitive who has 35 the shipment contained 1,000 cardboard boxes arrest warrants issued against him during a recent filled with Red Label bottles worth at least KD 1 crackdown in the area. Patrol officers had gone in million. The boxes were taken to the Drug Control the pursuit of the suspect after he ignored orders General Department, while investigations are to pull over. The man, Kuwaiti in his seventies, was going on to identify and arrest those who import- eventually forced to stop and placed under arrest. ed the shipment. —Rai An identity check revealed that the man is wanted for corruption charges and has 35 arrest warrant 12 held in gambling den raid issued in his name. He was taken to authorities for Twelve men were arrested inside an apartment further action. —Rai The vehicle that was set ablaze by unknown assailants. in Shaab that was turned into a casino according to police discoveries. Detectives had obtained a Work mishap warrant to raid the apartment after investigations A worker died after he fell from the 20th floor Armed robbers ransack confirmed that it was used for gambling and oth- of a building under construction in Mirqab recent- er illegal practices. The operation took place ly. Paramedics and police arrived at the scene Wednesday night, and police arrested 12 Kuwaiti shortly after the incident was reported, but dis- Ishbiliya co-op branches men who were inside at the time. A poker table, covered that the Egyptian man had already died. chips and other material used in gambling were The impact reportedly left the man decapitated, By Hanan Al-Saadoun ple was still heavily involved. found inside. The suspects were taken to the according to the investigations report. proper authorities to face charges. —Rai Criminal investigators took the body to the KUWAIT: Four unknown armed robbers Girls missing forensic department after they examined the entered two branches of a co-op society and A citizen told Abdallah Al-Salem police that Foul play in old man’s death escaped with goods, according to a security his daughter, born in 1989, went missing since scene.