KUWAIT: Kuwait Municipality on Monday began demolishing 67 derelict buildings in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh assessed by authorities as unsafe, dilapidated and a threat to lives, property and public safety. The municipality had given owners two weeks to demolish their buildings after evicting tenants, but as the landlords did not demolish the buildings, authorities started the demolition at the expense of the owners.
The municipality said in a statement the operation was executed under the supervision of Director General Manal Al-Asfour, in coordination with several state bodies, including Kuwait Fire Force and the ministries of interior, electricity, water and renewable energy, and health. The statement emphasized that all necessary precautions were taken to ensure the demolition was completed safely without affecting nearby homes.
The municipality had issued a decision on November 4 to vacate and demolish the buildings, stipulating completion within two weeks of its
publication in the official gazette. Jleeb is largely inhabited by hundreds of thousands of low-paid expatriate workers, and officials have described the area as a slum.
Meanwhile, the interior ministry said new fines for residency and visit visa violations, which have been doubled in some cases, will be implemented from Dec 23. The fines apply only to violations that the interior ministry agrees on settling financially, sparing violators from going to court and facing several years in jail, the ministry said.
The ministry said expats who fail to inform authorities about newborn babies and add them to their residency within four months from birth will be fined KD 2 daily for one month of delay, which rises to KD 4 daily afterwards. The maximum payable fine is KD 2,000, up from KD 600.
It said the fine for overstaying all types of visit visas is KD 10 per day, but the maximum payable fine is KD 2,000, up from KD 1,000 currently. Expats who enter Kuwait on entry visas must complete residency procedures within two months. Violators are fined KD 2 per day for the first month of delay, which rises to KD 4 daily thereafter. The maximum payable fine is KD 1,200, up from KD 600 currently.
The same fine applies for expats who overstay their temporary residence or the period granted for those leaving the country for good after cancelling their iqamas. The same fine also applies to those who fail to renew their iqama before expiry, and for those who are granted permission to obtain a new iqama following the cancellation of the previous one. But for domestic helpers, the fine is KD 2 daily for delays and the maximum fine is KD 600.
