KUWAIT: Lawmakers
yesterday urged the government to take concrete actions to translate its
promises to rectify the severe imbalance in the demographic composition, where
expatriates are more than double the number of citizens. MP Mohammad Al-Hadiya
said issues like the demographic structure, labor cities and unmarried expats
living in family residential areas have remained unresolved for years, although
plans and measures have already been prepared.

He said that many
single expats still live in family areas after the government repeatedly
delayed the construction of special towns for laborers, although the cities
were approved by the Municipal Council about 10 years ago. The lawmaker said
the government has failed to take proper actions against visa traders, the
majority of whom are highly influential people, which complicated the
population problem. Hadiya accused the government of not being serious in
resolving such critical issues.

MP Saleh Ashour
said solutions to the population structure and towns for laborers have remained
on government shelves for years without any action, adding that it is strange
to repeatedly hear statements from ministers and officials about these issues,
but they nevertheless remain without solutions. He said that scores of studies
and researches had been made on these problems, but the government has made no
progress on the ground to implement the solutions.

Meanwhile, MP
Riyadh Al-Adasani warned the government yesterday against privatizing any
public services which could result in hiking prices of the services and
commodities. The lawmaker said allowing the private sector to control public
utilities and vital sectors is totally rejected and threatened he would use constitutional
tools against the government.

Adasani sent
questions to the government over reports of plans to privatize some state-run
public services, saying he is totally opposed to this because it will lead to
price increases. The lawmaker also criticized the government for implementing
the early retirement law by forcing some employees to go on early retirement,
saying he had warned against the loopholes of the law during its debate in the
Assembly. He said he will file amendments to the law when the new Assembly term
opens in October.

By B Izzak