Expat exodus form Kuwait leads to drop in insurance fees collection

KUWAIT CITY: Data from the Ministry of Finance shows during the past fiscal 2020-2021 the ministry collected 87.1 million dinars from expatriates in health insurance fees, a decrease of 20.8% from the budget estimates, since the Ministry of Health had expected to collect 110 million dinars, reports Al-Qabas daily.

In fiscal 2019-2020 the ministry had collected about 107 million dinars.

The sources attributed the reason in the drop of fees collected for health insurance for expatriates to the cancellation of a very large number of residence permits following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent economic repercussions on all business sectors.

While preparations continue in full swing for the next academic year, the Ministry of Education is facing the problem of the lack of buses for students especially for intermediate and secondary students, reports Al- Anba daily.

Every year the Ministry of Education was providing buses and well-informed educational sources revealed told the daily the ministry did not extend or renew the bus contract to transport students in line with the health requirements recommended by the medical authorities especially with regards to physical distancing.

The sources said this will cause a crisis and a problem for parents of students who depend entirely on buses to take their children to school and back home.

The sources say the parents hope senior Ministry of Education officials will find a solution to this problem, hoping the safe return of students to schools without any problems for parents, especially those whose working conditions do not allow them to take their children to and from schools.