KUWAIT: Former municipal council member Ali Al-Moussa hailed the measures taken against construction violations as well as against officials who had not been doing their job duties properly. Moussa described the measures taken by Kuwait Municipality in coordination with the Interior Ministry to remove violations by force as a 'brave decision' that proves that executives are working on putting an end to such a negative phenomenon.

Moussa added that many citizens had violated construction laws by building extra unlicensed floors in various areas, which is illegal and alters the general aesthetic features of any residential area. "Some citizens have gone too far by building up to five floors," he added, highly commending the decision by Minister of State for Municipal Affairs Hossam Al-Roumi and Kuwait Municipality Director Ahmed Al-Manfouhi to face this issue and equally enforce the law on everyone.

Meanwhile, Manfouhi stressed that the Municipality does its best to enhance its supervisory role, and in order to do so, it plans to use satellite images by the beginning of 2019 and thus become a pioneer in using this modern technology. He was speaking after signing a contract with the Openware company for computer consultancies of a total value of KD 97,000 to provide the service.

Openware General Manager Eyad Arab said the contract will go into effect within a month and stressed that his company is completely ready to meet all the terms and conditions in the contract. "We are thrilled with this project which will track changes in urban areas around Kuwait through satellite images," he said, noting that the new technology will help the Municipality take the right decisions. Arab also noted that the new system will save much in terms of effort, manpower, time and cost.

'WaThakker' closed

A committee comprising of elements from the Interior Ministry and Kuwait Municipality yesterday closed down the 'WaThakker' center based on a court order issued by the criminal court on Dec 24, 2017 that also included sentencing the owner Fuad Al-Refai to five years in prison over charges of violating national unity laws, instigating tumult and slandering a religious sect.

By Meshaal Al-Enezi