KUWAIT: Recent statistics showed that the total number of illiterate expatriates in Kuwait is 108,594, including 70,702 males (65 percent) and 37,892 females (45 percent). Statistics also showed that the total number of non-Kuwaitis older than 15 is 2,729,242, including 1,961,178 males and 768,064 females. Moreover, statistics said the illiteracy rate in Kuwait in 2017-2018 was 2.93 percent of the total population and 1.69 percent of Kuwaitis, compared to 2.98 and 1.8 percent respectively in 2016-2017, which reflects the state's interest in education, keenness on fighting illiteracy and increasing the cultural and educational level amongst the population.

Municipal services' fees
Kuwait Municipality Director Ahmad Al-Manfouhi stressed that discussing the proposal made to increase the fees collected for municipal services will take place within three months after passing special charters regulating municipality work. "There are no plans to discuss any new fees - what is being circulated on social media concerns an old study that had been referred to the financial department long ago," he underlined. Manfouhi said the first phase of the e-system will be launched by the end of this month, the 'Barayeh Salem' project will open next month and the municipality will soon sign contracts for Egaila, Abdullah Al-Ahmad Street and Jahra projects.
Manfouhi said Minister Fahd Al-Shola had formed a special committee to revise the municipality law and amend it. Responding to a question about cleaning contracts, Manfouhi said the new contracts worth KD 123 million will be signed soon, noting that the previous ones had cost KD 280 million. In addition, Manfouhi said that a meeting will be held next week with the Interior Ministry's undersecretary to discuss construction violations in Jleeb Al-Shuyiukh, 'bachelors' residing in family residential areas and securing municipal employees to avoid any assaults on them while doing their jobs.

Egg supplies
Well-informed sources said local egg production and poultry companies promised the Kuwait Consumer Cooperative Societies Union to provide the local market with enough egg supplies to control prices. Noting that extra supplies had already arrived a few days ago, the sources added that the companies asked for a 20-day grace period to increase their production of eggs and keep the local market stable, which will make the co-ops union give up plans to import eggs from Turkey or any other foreign sources.

By A Saleh