KUWAIT: Rationalization and austerity plans would also affect the Ministry of Electricity and Water’s (MEW) future projects as well as the number of expatriates working for the ministry in those project, of whom some would be done without, Assistant Undersecretary for Power Plants’ Operation and Maintenance, engineer Fuad Al-Oun said. He explained that the state’s austerity plans has become a must, but noted that projects already in progress and expats working in them would not be affected by those plans. — Al-Rai

Public sector salaries increased: Amidst ongoing talks regarding austerity measures and government spending rationalization in different state departments in the wake of the budget deficit f due to the drop in oil prices, Al- Anbaa published an analysis on the increase in salaries in the public sector during the past 10 fiscal years; starting from 2005/2006 to 2014/2015. The statistics showed that salaries increased by three times, rising from KD 1.93 billion to KD 5.3 billion at an accumulated annual growth rate of 12 percent. The total salaries paid to ministries and state departments during the past 10 years reached nearly KD 36.6 billion, which is 16 percent of Kuwait’s total increase for the same period (KD 227.5 billion). Salaries made 24 percent of the total spending in the general budget for the 10 years, which reached KD 149 billion. — Al-Anbaa