KUWAIT: The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs announced that the last date to register non-Kuwaiti pilgrims planning to go for hajj this year would be August 8, while registration of Kuwaiti pilgrims would continue until Aug 29. The ministry announced that the electronic registry system would reject any pilgrim who fails to fill in all the e-forms needed. Meanwhile, the ministry set special conditions prior to approving the prices set by each hajj convoy. The ministry also banned price variations according to nationality and urged all convoys wishing to increase prices to justify the increase, leaving the final decision to it.

Bonds issued

The Central Bank of Kuwait yesterday issued a three-month bond with a total value of KD 240 million in order to regulate liquidity in the banking sector. Meanwhile, the central bank urged local banks to monitor any suspicious charity transactions and reject depositing any sums in bank accounts belonging to bodies or charities that have not been licensed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL).

PAAET separation

Treasurer of applied education colleges' fund at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) Shaaban Al-Rasheedi highly commended the finance ministry's decision on rejecting the separation of the education and the training sectors at PAAET because it was against the government's rationalization and austerity plans. "There are 60,000 students in PAAET and we cannot manipulate their future," he stressed, noting that separation calls would affect the number of diploma graduates and thus the government might have to hire expats instead. Rasheedi called for restructuring PAAET in a way to help make His Highness the Amir's vision about turning Kuwait into a regional financial and commercial hub come true.

By A Saleh