MPs call to hike salaries of all citizens by KD 400

By B Izzak

KUWAIT: Less than a week after concluding the first term of the new National Assembly, shortened by snap polls, lawmakers on Sunday submitted a host of populist draft laws calling to raise salaries of all Kuwaitis by KD 400, debt relief for citizens and another proposal to distribute 20 percent of returns on the country’s foreign assets to citizens over 21 every year.

Five MPs submitted a draft law calling to raise the salaries of Kuwaitis working in the government, private sector and pensioners by KD 400 to meet the sharp increases in the cost of living. The draft law also stipulates that the proposed increase will include all servicemen in the army, the police and the national guard. The lawmakers said in their bill that the proposed raises are necessary to enable Kuwaiti families to meet the rise in the cost of living.

Statistics have shown average salaries of non-Kuwaitis in the private sector increased from KD 324 to KD 342 per month, while expats in the public sector saw an average increase in their monthly salaries of around KD 19 to reach KD 741. In another move, five MPs submitted a draft law calling for debt relief for Kuwaiti citizens, basically based on forgiving the interest on bank loans. The bill stipulates that banks and financial companies under the supervision of the Central Bank will reschedule loans of Kuwaiti citizens taken until Jan 31, 2021.

The loans will then be repaid in instalments over a period of 12 years, including a two-year grace period, but without the incurring interest, which will be forgiven against the interest on government deposits in local banks. The main aim of the bill is to relieve debtors of high interest rates on their loans. Also, five MPs have proposed the government should distribute 20 percent of returns on Kuwaiti investments abroad, estimated at around $800 billion, to all Kuwaitis above 21 years of age every year

. Similar proposals had been submitted repeatedly in the past but were never debated in the Assembly due to the government’s opposition. MP Hani Shams said on Sunday that he and a group of lawmakers submitted a proposal calling to impose a fee of KD 100 on every square meter annually on those who own two houses and more. The lawmaker said the proposal targets a group of real estate merchants who hold a monopoly over large areas of land, which has triggered a huge increase in the prices of plots and houses. He said the decision, if adopted, will increase supply of land and houses, causing their prices to drop.

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