ShareKUWAIT: Minister of Commerce and Industry and Minister of Social Affairs Fahad Al-Shuraian issued amendments to the executive rules of private nurseries. The new rules call for a KD 5,000 deposit for the duration of the nursery’s license to ensure the it complies with commitments as mentioned in the rules. It also stipulates the owner must be a Kuwaiti citizen and holder of a diploma or university degree, and must not be working in any government or private entity.
The license will be valid for five years, and the form should carry the name of the nursery, address, number of children allowed, type of disability in case the nursery is licensed for the disabled, concerned authorities’ approvals and the number of employees and their duties. The license holder shall refer to the ministry three months before the expiry of the license to complete all required documents, and the same procedures for granting a license will be followed.
No more than three nurseries will be licensed in the same block of an area, and one must be for the disabled. The building must be in a service-oriented location. There must be a car parking lot with a capacity suitable with the number of those associated with the nursery. The building must be entirely used as a nursery and cannot be used as a residence or for any other purpose. There must be a written approval from neighbors and signed by the area’s mayor. This stipulation is not required for the renewal of the license unless ownership of the residence changes hands.
Meanwhile, the commerce and industry ministry has not responded to demands of Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry to cancel its decision of freezing prices despite its promise to review the issue according to developments in the world market. The ministry had issued this decision to face the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, which covered all types of food.
Private companies have said the decision causes them losses, because prices have gone up globally along with raw material costs, as well as export, shipping and even employment costs, which requires price increases in Kuwait, adding there is no longer any reason to stick to the decision to fix prices. Official sources said the commerce ministry found that cancelling the decision is not feasible and should remain until the end of the year.
The sources said the ministry’s reticence is for two reasons — the first is that cancelling the decision will cause a sudden and maybe huge increase in prices, which will negatively affect citizens and residents. The ministry also wants to continue measures to support Kuwaiti families through subsidies (tamween) and help limited-income citizens; only then will it think about cancelling the price-fixing decision.
