KUWAIT: The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor is facing several persistent problems, including worryingly high expatriate manpower levels, complaints from disabled citizens, sports-related issues and difficulties concerning Cooperative Societies , all of which need to be addressed and resolved promptly, according to minister Dr. Mohammad Al-Afasi. Speaking at a gathering held at former MP Duaij Al-Shemmari's diwaniya, the minister asserted that the most pressing of these problems is the issue of high lev
els of expatriate manpower, which he said has turned citizens into a minority in their own country living among 1.2 million expatriate workers.

The main problem with expatriate workers, he said, is that the majority fail to comply with the country's residency laws. Al-Afasi asserted that the MSAL introduced the computerized registration system in order to help combat all the problems in this area, insisting that the system is vitally important, especially in light of the forthcoming visit by UN Human Rights Council representatives in May.

Another issue causing problems for the ministry is the suspiciously steep surge in the numbers of Kuwaiti people registered as disabled, with this figure rising from 2,000 in 2000 in 3,200 in 2009, Al-Afasi continued. This has raised misgivings among many that a number of those citizens registered as disabled are feigning disability in order to obtain the privileges which the genuinely disabled are entitled to. The minister revealed that the government is set to announce the establishment of a public auth
ority for disabled affairs shortly to remedy this problem.

On the issue of problems with Cooperative Societies, Al-Afasi indicated that there are plans to establish a shareholding company to administer the operation of co-ops in order to manage their performance of their duties and combat violations. He stressed the importance of enforcing legislation that would address the outstanding problems with Cooperative Societies which were overlooked in previous laws.

The minister did not address the sports-related concerns, explaining that many cases regarding this issue are currently being examined in local courts, reported Al-Watan. Al-Afasi also reiterated the importance of nationalizing the management of charitable work. - Kuwait Times