KUWAIT:
Describing Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh as a land of outlaws and total chaos, MP Majed
Al-Mutairi yesterday sent a series of questions to the state minister for
municipality affairs about government plans for the densely-populated areas for
expatriates.

The lawmaker said
that the area, which is home to tens of thousands of expatriates, a majority of
whom are Asian, looks like an area from a totally different world despite its
highly important strategic location near the international airport, the new
university and the country's main sports stadium. With its random and chaotic
markets which disrupt traffic, the area has become a slum area like the
residential areas being removed from major Arab cities, he said.

The area is also
crowded with single expat unskilled laborers many of whom are law violators,
making the area home to outlaws, said Mutairi, adding that construction
organization is almost absent from the area making it extremely difficult for
any future plan to develop the area.

The lawmaker
asked the minister about proposed government plans to resolve the problems of
Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh and the main difficulties facing its execution. He also asked
if the ministry has any plans to remove the unlicensed random road markets and
if the government has any plans to revamp the whole area. Mutairi asked the
minister about the number of single men living in the area and why the ministry
has not penalized landlords who lease their buildings to bachelors in violation
of the law.

Meanwhile, MPs
criticized the government yesterday for failing to make the necessary repairs
for the roads hit by last year's flooding and for not paying compensation to
people whose property was damaged. MP Yousef Al-Fadhalah said the minister of
public works has said that road repairs will be completed in December this year
which is a long delay, adding that many roads are not in the best shape. MP
Mohammad Al-Hadiya held the ministry officials responsible for failing to
develop roads in the country to the best international standards.