By Nawara Fattahova

KUWAIT: Many tenants residing in various areas have faced problems renewing their civil ID due to the address of their building. These problems caused by changes in the building can be resolved by the landlord, but due to their negligence and carelessness, the tenants are the ones suffering. Tenants facing such a problem can find a "fixer" to register their address for KD 10. If they cannot find such an insider, they will face many problems and their ID card will never be issued.

Huda moved to a new flat in Salwa after the building where she lived for over 10 years was demolished. When renewing her ID, she was asked to bring the rent contract of the new flat to be able to change her address. "When I visited the Public Authority for Civil Information, I was also asked to provide the PACI number of the building. But the employee told me there is a problem with this building, as it shows in the system that many people are registered on this building," she told Kuwait Times.

The employee told her to ask the landlord to visit PACI and cancel the names of tenants registered on this address who are not living there. "I contacted the haris, who said that it's not their fault, and that if I didn't like the building, I can simply leave. He advised me to pay KD 10 to his Arab friend who works at PACI to get it fixed," added Huda.

Tony is another victim of the landlord's indifference. He faced many problems with his civil ID as he couldn't change his address. "The building I moved to in Farwaniya was a new building, and there was no PACI number on it. When I went to renew my ID, they asked for the PACI number. When I got it from the haris, they said we can't register you," he recounted.

"The employee said my flat does not exist. She said according to the PACI number, the building consists of only three floors and there is no fourth floor. When I asked the haris to resolve the problem, he kept saying 'next week', 'soon', etc, but he didn't do anything. I faced many problems without a valid civil ID including access to healthcare," Tony explained. Tony only resolved his problem after a friend told him about an Asian employee at PACI who could register his new address for KD 10. "Only then was I able to renew my ID, otherwise I would still be suffering," said Tony.