ShareKUWAIT: The Ministry of Commerce and Industry asked the Kuwait Union of Consumer Cooperative Societies to provide it with the prices of 114 basic items by the 7th of each month at the latest in order to compare prices, Al-Qabas reported. Sources said that the ministry that the price list from cooperatives will help ministry inspectors enforce the law of monitoring trade in commodities, services and work through inspection campaigns to guarantee commitment to the declared prices. The sources said the ministry completed the plan of supervising markets to be aware of any artificial increase in food prices in co-ops, supermarkets and commercial outlets. Plans are made to carry out daily inspections round the clock.
Smart city
In other news, Al-Qabas reported that the South Saad Al-Abdullah City project may not materialize, and the dream of the smart residential city has started to fade, amid moves by officials and leaders in the government to shift it to Khairan.
Power consumption
Separately, Al-Qabas reported that power consumption growth in Kuwait has registered a drop last year due to what officials said was the increase in tariffs that came in effect on Aug 22, 2017. Rates of power and water consumption in 2018 recorded a notable drop, as the increase in power consumption was 1.43 percent compared with 4.77 percent in 2017. Government statistics sent to the National Assembly revealed that water consumption dropped by 0.22 percent in 2018, after recording a 1.61 percent rise in 2017 and a 5 percent increase in 2016.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Electricity and Water announced yesterday that consumers can now gain access to a wide variety of on-line services, citing an awareness campaign it launched earlier this year. The initiative is part of efforts to familiarize consumers with online services they have at their disposal, the ministry's assistant undersecretary for planning Ahmad Al-Rashidi said in a statement. The ministry is in the process of setting up booths at public places to acquaint consumers with such services, the official said. Among the services offered is a quick e-payment system where consumers can pay their bills, he pointed out, adding that the ministry will continue to provide quality services as part of Kuwait's 2035 development plan.
