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SUBSCRIPTION TUESDAY, JANUARY 17, 2017 RABI AL-THANI 19, 1438 AH www.kuwaittimes.net Minister: Youth Stark inequality: Saudi carrier Heat is on essential for Eight men as flynas signs as stars development rich as half deal for 80 struggle at of tourism5 the world7 Airbus21 planes Aussie17 Open Lawmakers seek special Min 07º Max 19º debate on expat numbers High Tide 02:14 & 15:53 Low Tide Bill calls to lower voting age to 18 09:27 & 21:38 40 PAGES NO: 17113 150 FILS By B Izzak conspiracy theories KUWAIT: Opposition MP Abdulkarim Al-Kandari said yesterday he has begun collecting signatures of other Easy scapegoats MPs to demand holding a special debate in the Assembly to discuss the dangers of the rising numbers of expatriates in the country. Kandari, who criticized expatriates while commenting on the Amiri speech last week, said he expects the debate to be held in February to discuss the implications of the growth in expatriate By Badrya Darwish numbers on the demographic structure. He said the Assembly wants to know the position of the government regarding this issue and its planned measures to deal with the imbalance in the demo- graphic structure, adding that Kuwaitis should not [email protected] remain a minority in their own country. According to the latest official statistics, there are around 3.1 million expatriates in Kuwait from a total population of 4.4 mil- hat’s with the intense anti-expat campaign lion, or 70 percent of the population. Kuwaitis number in Kuwait nowadays? Why now? Did we 1.33 million or 30 percent of the population. Wwake up all of a sudden in the morning and Kandari’s move comes a few days after MP Safaa Al- discover that we have too many expats on our Hashem demanded that the government should take streets? Yes, I agree we may have a surplus of mar- the necessary measures to balance the population with- ginal labor. You can notice them on the streets and in three years by hiking the cost of living for expatriates see them crowding at the airport. You can drive in in the private sector and imposing a variety of taxes on some areas and feel that you are in another country. them. Hashem and other MPs failed to say how the gov- But this is not a new norm for the Gulf to have ernment will achieve this difficult task when the Kuwaiti expatriate labor working throughout the private workforce in the private sector makes up just five per- sector, and in the government sector to some cent of the 1.6 million workers and employees. They extent. Now the xenophobia has reached fever pitch KUWAIT: HH the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (center) presents the Crown Prince Cup to also failed to say how will the government deal with the and is far over-exaggerated. As if someone is on pur- Kuwait Sports Club players after they won the cup for the sixth time yesterday at Jaber Stadium. Kuwait beat problem of maids, who have increased to just under pose manipulating this issue to make it Kuwaitis’ top Qadsiya Sports Club 5-3 in a penalty shootout after the match ended in a goalless draw after regulation and extra 700,000. nightmare. I go to bed thinking about how many time. National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem and other senior officials were also present. — KUNA Continued on Page 13 expats are in Kuwait and wake up worrying about what will be left for our children. Just open any newspaper or any media source and you will see hundreds of comments about Harbi: Jaber Hospital for Kuwaitis only expats eating up Kuwait. This ministry is surveying how many expats are there, how many are needed KUWAIT: Minister of Health Jamal Al-Harbi of Jaber Hospital, the ministry would open and how many are not needed. We started seeing reaffirmed Sunday that the new world-class the new Razi and Amiri Hospitals. “We are ministries issuing numbers of expat doctors, nurses Jaber Hospital would start operation in also focusing our efforts on Jahra Hospital, and teachers needed or comparing numbers months to serve nationals only. A highly- which will be the largest hospital in Kuwait,” between who’s Kuwaiti and who’s not among qualified foreign administration would man- he said. On the medical centers of Al-Salam employees. age the hospital until training of national International Hospital, the minister noted Since this new parliament took over less than two cadres is completed to take over later, the that the centers are for dentistry, kidney months back, the only issue they all seem to pro- minister said in statements to reporters dur- diseases and physical therapy. He pointed mote is the anti-expat one. As if we have no other ing the inauguration of three medical cen- out that Al-Salam International Hospital problems or no other issues to discuss and no future ters affiliated to the private Al-Salam offers distinguished healthcare services to International Hospital. Kuwaiti retirees who hold AFIA health to plan or no development to work on. No need to “As of next month, the international insurance cards. The new centers have 12 focus on our economy or the future development of administrative team will start training 75 dentistry clinics and 16 kidney dialysis the country or the education of our children. Instead national cadres to qualify them to take over machines, he said. The minister said he was they focus on how much we should tax expats and management affairs with their foreign pleased by the high-quality services pro- how to get rid of them, to the point that they are peers,” he said. He elaborated that the vided by Al-Salam Hospital to Kuwaitis. almost inciting hatred against every expat in the equipment would be delivered to Jaber CEO of Al-Salam International Hospital country. Hospital starting from June. The hospital Dr Ayman Al-Mutawa emphasized the This is what I find unfair. Many expats are doing a will later start operation with outpatient importance of the role played by private decent job in Kuwait. They are respectable people. clinics in the first phase, Harbi said. He medical institutions in easing the burden We have suffered no harm in dealing with them and added that the ministry has prepared a on government hospitals and medical cen- we benefit from having them here. But to start highly-skilled 2,600-member nursing team ters and helping the health ministry realize counting their salaries and remittances - I find this to work at Jaber Hospital. He however its strategy and plans. He viewed private ridiculous and unfair. Why would someone travel admitted there is a shortage of doctors, medical institutions as key partners of the KUWAIT: Health Minister Jamal Al-Harbi (center) opens three medical centers affili- and leave his country and live abroad, if not for a job technicians and pharmacists. government in upgrading healthcare serv- ated to the private Al-Salam International Hospital on Sunday. — KUNA and financial issues? And if he’s sending money Harbi stated that after the inauguration ices in the country. — KUNA home to his family, he’s not stealing it. He worked hard for it. I don’t think he was given it as a gift. We know why we have expats here. Kuwait needs Turkish jet crashes into expats and we cannot deny this. In many fields. But their exaggerated numbers and existence in Kuwait, Kyrgyz village, 37 dead we all know who did this. The parliamentarians know it and the government knows who brought BISHKEK: A Turkish cargo jet smashed into Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister these extra expats to Kuwait. It’s called human traf- a village in Kyrgyzstan yesterday as it tried Muhammetkaly Abulgaziev said at a brief- ficking. So why are we blaming expats in general for to land at a nearby airport in dense fog, ing broadcast on state television. Four this? Why don’t we blame those who profited from killing at least 37 people, Kyrgyz officials crewmembers on board were killed. The human trafficking and those who are still doing it and the airline said. According to airport rest of the dead were villagers. Kyrgyzstan’s and will keep doing it? officials, the Boeing 747 was supposed to Emergencies Ministry put the initial toll at This is what we expect from our parliament to make a stopover at Manas airport, near the 37. The Healthcare Ministry said 13 children discuss. We have a popular proverb in Arabic that capital Bishkek, on its way from Hong Kong and teenagers were among the dead. says “if you cannot fight the donkey, fight the sad- to Istanbul, airport officials said, but it HH the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al- dle”. In other words, if you cannot challenge the real crashed in poor visibility at 7:31 am. The Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a cable of problem, you pick on a scapegoat. Don’t make plane ploughed on for a few hundred condolences to Kyrgyz President Almazbek expats your easy scapegoats. Don’t make them the meters through the Dachi Suu village, Atambayev over the victims of the plane excuse for our failure to build our country, fix our home to hundreds of families, sheering crash. In the cable, the Amir prayed that CAIRO: Egyptian children celebrate with a national flag marked with the words failing hospitals or our useless education system or into mangled pieces and damaging Allah Almighty would bless the souls of the ‘Tiran’ and ‘Sanafir’ after the Supreme Administrative Court upheld yesterday a rul- our collapsing, potholed roads.